Sikhs told to trust Canada justice as India questions it
New Delhi calls probe of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh politically motivated
Daily TribuneNew Delhi calls probe of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh politically motivated
Arlyn McAdorey / POOL / AFP
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reassured Sikhs that the country’s justice system is strong with the arrest of three Indians suspected of killing an alleged separatist, as India questioned it for linking New Delhi to the crime.
“Let us remain calm and us remain steadfast in our commitment to our democratic principles and our system of justice,” Trudeau told Sikhs at a gala in Toronto to celebrate Sikh heritage and culture on Saturday.
Trudeau acknowledged that many in Canada’s Sikh community are “feeling uneasy, and perhaps even frightened right now,” after the shooting dead of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the parking lot of the Sikh temple on 18 June 2023.
Police arrested three men suspected of being behind the killing. The Indian nationals aged 22 and 28 were arrested Friday on first-degree murder and conspiracy charges.
They are accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout on the day Nijjar was killed.
Police said they were still investigating the ties of the suspects, “if any, to the Indian government,” and whether others may have been involved.
India vehemently rejected the allegations as “absurd,” halting the processing of visas for a time and forcing Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
“It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted external affairs minister S. Jaishankar as saying on Saturday.
Thousands of people were killed in the 1980s during a separatist insurgency aimed at creating a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, which was put down by security forces.
The movement has largely petered out within India, but in the Sikh diaspora — whose largest community is in Canada, with around 770,000 people — it retains support among a vocal minority.
