Canada says no proof India was behind Nijjar killing, contradicting Trudeau

In a major U-turn, Canada has said that there was no evidence that Indian officials were involved in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. This marks a significant shift as former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had alleged that top Indian officials had ordered Nijjar’s killing.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland told Canadian CBC news that the investigation into Nijjar’s murder found no evidence that Indian officials were involved in the crime. She added that the Indian government co-operated in the investigation.

Trudeau’s allegations linking the government to murder had soured bilateral relations between India and Canada. India has dismissed Trudeau's charges as "absurd" and "motivated."

Moreland’s statement comes as the U.S. Department of Justice charged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his top aide Satinderjeet Singh aka Goldy Brar in the indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Bishnoi is already in an Indian jail, but the FBI announced a reward of USD 50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Brar.

Nijjar was gunned down in June 2023 in the parking lot of his Surrey, B.C., temple.

Satinderjeet Singh, a top Canada-based lieutenant for the Bishnoi gang known as Goldy Brar, is also named in the indictment for his alleged role in the killing.

The chargesheet comes as Canadian, U.S. and European authorities said they had arrested 24 suspects in connection with three separate Indian crime groups on Tuesday. This was part of the coordinated action named 'Operation Hardball' carried out by the law enforcement agencies of the US, Canada and Europe. All of the accused were connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination.

The current action is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora, the Justice Department said.

The statement said the police are also looking for 10 fugitives currently at large in the U.S., India and Europe.

Though he is in prison, Bishnoi still yields control over his crime enterprise via trusted lieutenants and regional leaders, including Brar, who is the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise. Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan is the European leader, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, oversees Punjab.

Brar and Godara effectively spoke for Bishnoi and helped direct the actions of members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide, including acts of violence committed by the gang's members and associates in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, the indictment said.