Activist who took over Khalistan campaign from Hardeep Singh Nijjar warned life at risk

The activist who took over the Khalistan independence referendum campaign from the slain Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar has been warned by police that his life is in danger.

Inderjeet Singh Gosal, who resides in Brampton, Ontario, said that the Ontario Provincial Police visited his home after midnight on Friday to deliver a "duty to warn" notice. Since Gosal wasn't home at the time, an officer later contacted him by phone to inform him of the risk, advising him to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity, Gosal shared with Global News on Tuesday.

“I was a little shocked,” Gosal, 35, said.

Gosal is the coordinator of a Canada-wide referendum advocating for the independence of India's Sikh-majority Punjab state. He assumed this role following the assassination of Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., last year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly linked Nijjar’s June 18, 2023, murder to agents of the Indian government, which opposes the Khalistan separatist movement and had labeled Nijjar a terrorist.

Gosal believes that the Indian government is behind the threat to his life, attributing it to his role in organizing voting events for the Khalistan independence referendum.

“I am coordinating all the referendums in Canada, taking the role after Mr. Nijjar,” Gosal said. “I thought I was safe here, in a beautiful country like Canada, but clearly, India is not letting up.”

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been accused of engaging in transnational repression and assassination plots aimed at silencing pro-Khalistan voices. Police suspect that Indian agents have been contracting organized crime groups to carry out these killings.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the New York-based organizer of the referendum and leader of Sikhs For Justice, was also targeted in a foiled assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by an Indian official.

In another incident, the FBI is investigating an August 11 shooting in northern California, where five shots were fired at the vehicle of Satinder Pal Singh Raju, a U.S. Khalistan referendum organizer.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has not yet responded to requests for comment. The RCMP, which issues "duty to warn" notices, stated that it does not publicly confirm such warnings, as doing so could increase the risks involved.

“We acknowledge that an individual who has received a ‘duty to warn’ may choose to make this information public; however, it does not alleviate the responsibility of the RCMP to maintain the privacy of the individual who has received such a warning,” the RCMP’s Ontario office said.

Over the past two years, the RCMP has issued several warnings to pro-Khalistan activists, informing them that their lives are at risk but withholding specific details.

As a key organizer of the voting events in support of Khalistan and a close associate of Pannun, Gosal was already concerned for his safety after a drive-by shooting at his home in February.

Gosal was also a close friend of Nijjar, whom he described as “like a brother to me.” Nijjar was shot dead outside Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, where he served as president.

In May, four suspects with alleged ties to Indian organized crime were arrested in Edmonton and Brampton in connection with Nijjar’s killing. The RCMP continues to investigate the Indian government’s alleged involvement.

According to Pannun, the latest incidents indicate that India remains undeterred and emboldened by the lack of consequences for its actions. He blamed the Modi government for the threat against Gosal, describing it as transnational repression and a challenge to Canadian sovereignty.

“The Trudeau government must hold India’s high commissioner accountable for setting up a spy network that monitors pro-Khalistan activists and orchestrated Nijjar’s assassination,” Pannun said.

Foreign interference has become a significant issue under the Trudeau government, which has established a commission to investigate attempts by hostile powers to influence the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Both the Foreign Interference Commission and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) have identified India as the second-largest threat to Canada, following China.

The NSICOP report revealed that several parliamentarians may have assisted foreign governments and that "proxy agents" are actively working on behalf of these states.

The report also alleged that a proxy for India had funded two unnamed federal political parties and was "likely reimbursed" by the Indian government. The candidates were reportedly unaware that they were targeted.