Agents working out of India’s high commission in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto were behind dozens of violent crimes across Canada that targeted opponents of the Modi government, Global News has learned.
Although on paper they held diplomatic and consular positions, the Indian agents played key roles in a wave of shootings, killings, threats, arsons and extortions in Canada, according to senior sources familiar with the matter.
The victims were mostly supporters of the Khalistan movement, which seeks independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab region. But others were simply rivals of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sources said.
The Canadian government announced on Monday it was expelling six Indian diplomats and consular officials.
To insulate themselves from their involvement in the operation, the Indian diplomats used coercion, and sometimes cash payments, to convince community members to collect information about their targets in Canada.
The photos and intelligence they collected was fed back to their handlers at the Indian diplomatic missions in Canada. Organized crime groups, notably India’s Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were then tasked with carrying out the violence.
The Indian High Commissioner, Sanjay Kumar Verma, allegedly oversaw the scheme. Another Ottawa-based diplomat, as well as two consular officials in Toronto and another two in Vancouver, were allegedly involved.
A typical scenario involves the embassy or consulates withholding visas to community members in Canada who need to travel to India. Victims are told they can have a visa, but they must earn it by conducting tasks for the diplomats.
Those tasks include attending Sikh temples and gathering information on when individuals leave their homes for work each morning.
Among the incidents police have tied to the Indian government scheme were everything from the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., to a recent shooting on Vancouver Island that saw 14 bullets fired at the home of a Punjabi singer.
Over the weekend, the RCMP notified India that its diplomats were persons of interest in its investigations and asked New Delhi to waive their diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned.
India responded by releasing a statement on Monday accusing Prime Minister Justice Trudeau of playing politics.
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At a news conference in Ottawa hours later, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told reporters investigators had linked Indian government agents to “serious criminal activity in Canada” that poses a “significant threat to public safety.”
“Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion,” Duheme said.
“Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the government of India,” he said.
“The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community.”
It is not unusual for a country to assign intelligence agents to an embassy or consulate under diplomatic cover. But it would be extraordinary for them to take part in crimes in their host country.
It is also illegal, but before the alleged agents could be charged, Ottawa would have to ensure they were not protected by the immunity granted to foreign diplomats and consular officers.
In this case, Canada appears to have decided not to prosecute and instead treat it as a diplomatic incident.
The Canadian government could also ask India to prosecute the suspects, or to take the case to the International Court of Justice, for conducting criminal activity in violation of international law and Canadian sovereignty.
The allegations point to an Indian government strategy to target prominent members of the international Khalistan movement, but also those who were only marginally supportive as well as others with whom the Modi government had a beef.
India has repeatedly denied the allegations and on Monday called the allegation that its high commissioner and other diplomats were involved “preposterous.”
But the RCMP commissioner said a multidisciplinary team was created in February 2024 to investigate and coordinate the threats posed by the scheme, and the crimes to which it had been linked.
“The team has learned a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India, and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada,” he said.
“Despite law enforcement action, the harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety. We reached a point where we felt it was imperative to confront the government of India and inform the public about some very serious findings that have been uncovered through our investigations.”
‘The RCMP is hoping to address these threats through our relationship with the Government of India and the National Investigation Agency with the end goal of strengthening the safety and security of the Canadian public and South Asian community.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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