NEW DELHI: Former Indian Ambassador to Canada Sanjay Verma has defended India’s position on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar case, asserting that allegations linking India to the killing were “baseless” and unsupported by evidence, while maintaining that New Delhi has consistently warned Canada about Khalistani extremist activities.“Whatever allegations were levelled were grave, but there was no proof or fact behind those allegations. There was nothing that could be called ‘credible evidence’ in legal terms, and India stood firm on its stance,” Verma told ANI.He said India had rejected the allegations from the outset, calling them “politically motivated” and later “completely absurd.” “India has remained consistent on that statement from then until today,” he added.
US indictment clears India, points to gang war
Verma pointed to recent developments in the United States, where a federal investigation into organised crime networks concluded that Nijjar’s killing was the result of a gang war between two factions, with no involvement of the Indian government, officials or diplomats.“If we look at recent developments, there was an investigation in the US into what they call an ‘organised crime group.’ This investigation took place over the last three years, and Canada’s investigative agencies were also a part of it. The conclusion reached through their investigation, and this is a US conclusion, is that the assassination was the result of a gang war, a fight between two factions,” Verma said.He cited remarks by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner, who said in a TV interview that no Indian officials, the nation of India, the Indian government, or Indian diplomats were charged or had any hand in the killing.When asked if the allegations caused damage to India’s international image, Verma said that the claims made by former PM Justin Trudeau had lost weight over time.“Initially, if a leader of a democracy, at that time, the Prime Minister of Canada was the leader of Canada, makes an allegation, most people will think there must be some truth to it. But as the matter progressed and people examined it from various angles, everyone across the world, including the ‘Five Eyes,’ reached the conclusion that it was an absurd statement. Levelling blame against India based on that statement is complete nonsense,” he said.
India had warned Canada
Addressing concerns over Khalistani activities, Verma said India’s concerns predated the Nijjar case and dated back to the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing.“India has consistently and repeatedly told Canada since then that anti-India activities by Khalistanis take place there. India presented many extradition requests to Canada, but not a single one has been successful so far. It’s not as if India started talking about Khalistan because of this murder. India has been talking about Khalistan from the beginning,” Verma said.
US indictment: A turning point
On July 7, US federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced three indictments naming 37 accused linked to transnational organised crime and narcotics networks under “Operation Hard Ball.” The joint investigation involved the FBI, LAPD, RCMP and European law-enforcement agencies.The indictment describes Lawrence Bishnoi and the Organised Crime Network as a prison-directed enterprise that combined extortion, contract killing, and narcotics trafficking across Canada, the US and Europe. The document has no mention of the Indian state, marking a significant turnaround from earlier accusations, especially those from Canada.
