Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday (Mar 28) that his government was working with India on the investigation regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Addressing an event in Vancouver, Prime Minister Trudeau was asked about how India’s cooperation was shaping up the investigation of Nijjar “when Canada has credible allegations and India expects Canada to complete its own investigation first?”
Taking a brief pause, Trudeau said, “The killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is something that we all should take extremely seriously.”
“The credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were involved in–that is something that we did not declare lightly, but our responsibility to protect all Canadians from illegal actions by foreign governments is something that, as a country grounded in diversity, we need to take very seriously,” he added.
The video of Trudeau’s remarks was shared by CPAC TV. The Prime Minister further said that Ottawa was working with New Delhi to get to the bottom of the matter.
The allegation and strain in Ottawa and New Delhi relations
This is not the first time that Trudeau has spoken about Nijjar’s killing.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020, was shot and killed as he came out of a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
Also watch | Nijjar killing: India refuses to aid Canada in probe till evidence is shared
In September last year, Trudeau said Canadian security agencies had credible allegations of a potential link between the Indian government and Nijjar’s killing. New Delhi rejected the Canadian PM’s allegation and said that such a claim diverted attention from the activities of Khalistan operatives living in Canada.
Trudeau’s allegation also marked yet another strain in the relations between the two countries.
The Indian foreign ministry has said that Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing.
(With inputs from agencies)
