Latest news with #Nijjar
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Canadian intelligence agency confirms Khalistani extremists in Canada
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has acknowledged the presence of Khalistani extremists operating from Canadian soil, stating they use the country 'as a base for promotion, fundraising, or planning of violence primarily in India.' The findings were detailed in the CSIS Public Report 2024 released on Wednesday, which also emphasized that only a small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists. The report was released shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The leaders agreed to work toward mending bilateral relations, which had deteriorated following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 — a Canadian national designated a terrorist by India. Accusations by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleging India's involvement had led to a major diplomatic standoff. Clarifying Canada's stance, the report noted that non-violent advocacy for an independent Khalistan is not treated as extremism under Canadian law. However, it flagged politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE) as a concern, particularly from Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs), a phenomenon present since the mid-1980s. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Highlighting India's long-standing concerns, the report referenced New Delhi's view that Canada has historically been a safe haven for anti-India activities, especially in light of the 1985 Air India bombing and related terrorism in India. While no CBKE-related attacks occurred in Canada in 2024, the report noted that 'real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada.' The report also addressed the Canadian government's and RCMP's ongoing investigation into Nijjar's killing, stating that 'links between the Government of India and the Nijjar murder signal a significant escalation in India's repression efforts against the Khalistan movement.' Live Events Additionally, the report referred to the first phase of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI), which began in March 2024. It alleged that both Indian and Pakistani officials engaged in foreign interference, with Pakistan aiming to counter India's growing global influence. The report concluded by recommending sustained vigilance regarding India's 'continued foreign interference' in Canadian affairs.
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Gunfire hits Nijjar-linked business in Canada; cousin blames Bishnoi gang
Toronto: A business owned by a cousin of murdered pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was fired upon in the early hours of Thursday, the latest in a series of such incidents targeting prominent Indo-Canadian businessmen in the area. Multiple shots were fired on the premises of Nijjar Trucking owned by Raghbir Singh Nijjar at around 3 am on Thursday. The outlet Red FM reported that on June 18, there was an attempt to set vehicles afire at the same business. It cited Nijjar as alleging that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the attack, as part of an extortion attempt. His residence had been similarly targeted in August 2024. Nijjar also said that criminal gangs were using international students for these violent acts. While he is related to Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed on June 18, 2023, in Surrey, British Columbia, a person familiar with them said they had not been close. This incident followed the murder of another businessman Satwinder Sharma on June 11 in neighbouring Abbotsford. Sharma, 56, was shot while at his business location. The case is being handled by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or IHIT which said, 'Early indications suggest this was a targeted incident and no one else was injured as a result of the shooting. Investigators are working diligently to determine the motive and the circumstances surrounding the homicide.' Another repeat victim is Satish Kumar, president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey. On June 7, Reflections Banquet Hall, which he owns, was shot at. Early on Saturday, another business, Satish Accounting Services, was similarly targeted. Kumar told the outlet Vancouver Sun, 'My life is on the line. My family's life is on the line.' In December 2023, the residence where his son and family live in was fired upon. British Columbia Premier (equivalent of an Indian Chief Minister) David Eby has called upon the Federal Government to designate such violent criminal groups as terrorist organisations. In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday, he wrote, 'On February 15, 2025, the Government of Canada announced the listing of seven transnational criminal groups as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code. British Columbia believes that this legal instrument should be applied to groups, such as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, engaged in extortion and violent crimes in multiple Canadian provinces. This is a complex and nationally impactful criminal issue deserving of a national criminal law response to investigate and prosecute those participating in, promoting and/or facilitating these crimes.'
Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Khalistani extremists using Canada to plan violence in India: Intel report
New Delhi: Politically motivated violent extremism threat in Canada since mid-1980s has manifested through Khalistani extremists seeking to use violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan within India's Punjab, a report by Ottawa's intelligence agency has said. It said a small group of Khalistani extremists are continuing to use Canada as a base for fundraising and planning of violence primarily in India. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service's report for 2024 was released on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney with a focus on rebuilding bilateral ties that plummeted to an all-time low following a diplomatic spat over the killing of a Khalistani separatist. The report said ongoing involvement in violent activities by Canada-based Khalistani extremists continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests. The report was also critical of New Delhi for what it called India's foreign interference activities in Canada. 'In particular, real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada,' it alleged. The report appeared to clearly vindicate New Delhi's consistent position that pro-Khalistani elements in Canada have been carrying out anti-India activities with impunity. 'Since the mid-1980s, the PMVE (politically motivated violent extremism) threat in Canada has manifested primarily through Canada-based Khalistani extremists seeking to use and support violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan, largely within Punjab,' the report said. Under its India section, the report alleged that 'Indian officials, including their Canada-based proxy agents, engage in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians'. 'When these activities are deceptive, clandestine or threatening, they are deemed to be foreign interference,' it claimed. New Delhi had previously trashed such charges levelled by Canadian authorities. The report also said China poses the greatest intelligence threat to Canada, besides naming Pakistan, Russia and Iran. The report also mentioned the case of killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Nijjar. India had rejected the charges. In October last year, India recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case. India also expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats. The report said Canada's investigation into the 2023 killing of Nijjar continued in 2024. 'Four individuals were arrested in May 2024 and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Criminal proceedings are ongoing,' it said. 'In mid-October, as part of ongoing RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) investigations, the RCMP announced that evidence pointed to a link between agents of the government of India and criminal networks to sow violent activity in South Asian communities in Canada,' the report alleged.
Global News
13 hours ago
- Global News
Surrey trucking company targeted twice in suspected extortion case
A Surrey business owner says his business was shot at early Thursday morning, about 24 hours after a previous incident. Raghbir Singh Nijjar, owner of Nijjar Trucking, which is in an industrial area in northwest Surrey, said someone shot at the building and the company cars parked in the lot. When Surrey Police Service officers arrived on the scene, they found bullet casings. No one was inured, even though staff were inside when the shooting happened, but the shooting happened just under 24 hours after vehicles were damaged at the same location. On Wednesday, June 18, at approximately 3:50 a.m., suspects used gasoline to damage vehicles but were scared off by on-site security. SPS officers arrived on scene and gathered evidence from this incident as well. Nijjar said that about a year ago, someone called his business and demanded money for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Story continues below advertisement India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) describes the group as a criminal gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, whose lawyer says contests more than 40 cases accusing him of crimes such as murder and extortion. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Nijjar said they have reported everything to RCMP and Surrey police while the people have kept calling and asking for money. He said he is scared of what is going on. 'We (are) working every day,' he added. 'We (are doing) hard work. We (have been here) since '91. That's why we came over here (for) safety and (a) better future.' 2:15 Maple Ridge shooting believed tied to extortion attempts Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Surrey Police Service would not confirm on Thursday that these incidents are linked to extortion. Story continues below advertisement 'Well, we'll be looking at all of the motives and all potential links, whether it's to past investigations and this current investigation, as with any investigation, we have to let the evidence dictate the course of that investigation,' he said. 'It may turn out that it is related to previous investigations or previous incidents, but we have to let the investigation take its course.' This incident comes after a home in Maple Ridge was shot at twice in what is believed to be linked to an extortion attempt and last week, the brazen murder of an Abbotsford man with no known criminal ties reignited extortion fears in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. In this case, SPS's Frontline Investigative Support Team (FLIST) has assumed conduct of both investigations. Anyone with information about this incident should contact the SPS non-emergency line at 604-599-0502 and quote file number 25-50413 (SP) or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or
The Hindu
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Canada-based Khalistani extremists continue to plan, fund violence in India, says report
Canada doubled down on allegations of a link between the Indian government and the Nijjar killing, while acknowledging for the first time that Canada-Based Khalistani Extremists (CBKE) continue to plan and fund violence in India in a report released on Wednesday (June 18, 2025). The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), which named India, along with China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia as the 'main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada', was released online on Wednesday (June 18, 2025), a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 Summit outreach in Kananaskis and agreed to restore High Commissioners and a number of dialogue mechanisms. It was tabled by the CSIS in the Canadian Parliament last week. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declined to comment on the report, which indicates that while Canada is taking note of India's concerns over Khalistani groups more than in the past, it maintains its allegations over the Nijjar killing and other accusations of foreign interference, including Transnational Repression (TNR), which New Delhi has repeatedly denied. 'Links between the Government of India and the Nijjar murder signal a significant escalation in India's repression efforts against the Khalistan movement and a clear intent to target individuals in North America,' the CSIS annual report for 2024, marking 'Forty years of national security' said. Referring to the continuing investigation into the murder of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down at a gurdwara outside Toronto in June 2023, the CSIS said four individuals were arrested in May 2024 and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and criminal proceedings were underway. It said investigations 'point to a link between agents of the Government of India and criminal networks to sow violent activity in South Asian communities in Canada', adding that six Indian diplomats were expelled to 'disrupt this network'. In October 2024, the Canadian government expelled India's High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other embassy officials on charges linked to the case, which India roundly denied, expelling six Canadian diplomats. The report added Canada-based Khalistani extremist groups for the first time to its section on Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE), indicating that the CSIS is taking India's complaints about violence from these groups more seriously than before, which has been a source of New Delhi's long-held grievance against Ottawa. However, it said that while 'some' of Khalistani separatist supporters took part in legitimate protests and other activities, 'only a small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists because they continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India'. The CSIS found no attacks in Canada in 2024 carried out by these groups, but said their ongoing involvement in violent activities 'continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests', an assessment which will find favour in India. Be vigilant, says report The report said Canada 'must remain vigilant about continued foreign interference conducted by the Government of India, not only within ethnic, religious and cultural communities but also in Canada's political system,' referring to an official Commission's allegations against New Delhi of political interference and the alleged 'use of proxies' to influence elections by the Indian government in January this year. The MEA had denied these allegations, saying it was Canada that interfered in India's internal activities rather than the other way around. New Delhi is expected to also protest a politically-charged comment in the latest CSIS report that links its allegations on transnational repression with India's 2024 election outcomes and the Modi government's 'Hindu-nationalist policy agenda' in particular. 'Prime Minister Modi and his core Ministers and advisers are keen to build India's global influence and counter any activity they consider as 'anti-India,' at home or abroad, in the name of domestic stability and prosperity,' the report said. It conceded that India's history of calling Canada a 'haven for anti-India activity' was rooted in the 1985 Air India 'Kanishka' flight bombing and subsequent terrorist activity in India, but added that this perception continues to 'drive Indian foreign interference activities' in Canada. The CSIS report said Pakistan too had attempted to interfere in Canadian politics, by helping 'pro-Pakistan' candidates over those seen as 'Pro-India' and also carried out TNR activities to suppress Pakistani dissidents and critics in the country.
