Trudeau admits he failed to provide solid proof in Nijjar’s murder and had only shared intelligence before accusing India
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted that he failed to provide solid proof to India regarding Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder on Canadian land and mentioned that he only provided intelligence before publicly blaming India for the Khalistani separatist’s murder.
Nijjar was shot dead in his pickup truck in June 2023 after leaving the Sikh temple he headed in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau stated in his testimony at the foreign interference inquiry that Canadian agencies attempted to collaborate directly with India before making public accusations in the Nijjar killing case.
He said that when Canadian agencies asked India to look into the allegations, New Delhi sought proof. “At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof,” Trudeau admitted.
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Indian Govt has repeatedly charged Canada for making baseless claims
The Indian government has accused Canada multiple times of making unsupported claims without presenting any proof.
The Canadian Prime Minister discussed his encounter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023 prior to Canada making its accusations against India public.
“I sat down and shared (with PM Modi) that we knew that they were involved (in Nijjar killing) and expressed a real concern around it. He responded with the usual response from him, which is that we have people who are outspoken against the Indian government living in Canada that he would like to see arrested,” he said.
Trudeau claimed that India did not cooperate with the investigation and intensified criticism of his government, stating that “India had violated Canada’s sovereignty”.
Trudeau admits having credible evidence of Indian agents’ involvement in Nijjar killing
Trudeau faced the committee following Ottawa’s recent accusation that Indian diplomats were gathering information and utilizing criminal groups to go after supporters of the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada. He repeated his assertion to the committee that there was “credible evidence” showing Indian agents were implicated in Nijjar’s murder.
Trudeau also identified criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, who was previously named by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in connection with Nijjar’s murder. Trudeau claimed that Indian officials were gathering data on Canadian citizens and giving it to the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate.
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Following charges against Indian diplomats by Canada on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs criticized Canada for not providing any evidence of India’s role in Nijjar’s killing, accused Trudeau of vote bank politics, and failing to address separatist groups in Canada.