News Brief
Nijjar Row: Canada Police Arrests Members Of "Alleged Hit Squad Tasked By Indian Government" To Kill Khalistani Terrorist
Nishtha Anushree
May 04, 2024, 10:03 AM | Updated 10:03 AM IST
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The Canadian Police on Friday (3 May) claimed to have arrested three members of an alleged hit squad who was "tasked by the government of India" for killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was killed in British Columbia's Surrey on 18 June last year and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly accused India of being involved in the killing in September, deteriorating relations with India.
The men are said to have been arrested on Friday during police operations in at least two provinces. They were identified by the investigators some months ago and were kept under tight surveillance, as per CBC reportN.
"Members of the hit squad are alleged to have played different roles as shooters, drivers and spotters on the day Nijjar was killed at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, according to the sources," the report added.
The charges filed on Friday claim that the conspiracy occurred in both Surrey and Edmonton from 1 May 2023, until the day of Nijjar’s murder. The accused's links to three other murders are also being investigated.
This comes after India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected Trudeau's remarks in a recent interview where he called Nijjar's killing a "problem" between the two nations that "cannot be ignored".
"PM Trudeau has made such remarks earlier as well. His remarks illustrate once again the political space that has been given in Canada to separatism, extremism, and violence,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
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Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
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