Sikh groups call for Indian consulates to be shut down in Vancouver, Toronto
The RCMP is investigating three homicides over the past two years with possible ties to India, though they have not confirmed if Nijjar’s killing is among them.
Representatives of a British Columbia Sikh temple and the Sikh independence group involved with the temple's slain president are calling for the closure of India’s consulates in Vancouver and Toronto, stating their communities won’t feel safe otherwise.
This follows the Canadian government's expulsion of six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, due to alleged involvement in crimes such as homicide and extortion targeting the Khalistan independence movement.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recently announced evidence linking these diplomats to criminal activities.
The Canadian government previously revealed credible intelligence connecting India’s government to the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., and a prominent advocate of the Khalistan movement.
At a news conference, Gurkeerat Singh, a spokesperson for the gurdwara, emphasized that the security of the Sikh community would remain uncertain until India’s consulates are shut down.
India has denied the allegations, dismissing claims that its diplomats passed information on South Asian Canadians to criminals who then acted violently.
Jatinder Singh Grewal, from the advocacy group Sikhs for Justice, echoed these concerns, stating that the threat to Sikhs in Canada had increased after previous diplomatic expulsions.
He argued that India’s efforts to suppress the Khalistan movement were behind the ongoing violence, calling India’s consulates “houses of terror” that must be closed.
The expulsion of Indian diplomats comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in September 2023 that Canadian intelligence services were investigating possible links between India’s government and Nijjar’s killing.
Four Indian nationals have since been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy.
Grewal argued that the individuals who carried out the attack were only "tools," and the real threat came from those allegedly collecting and sharing information on Sikh Canadians.
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme stated that Indian diplomats had allegedly used their positions to collect information on pro-Khalistan Sikhs and pass it on to the Indian government, either directly or through intermediaries.
The RCMP is investigating three homicides over the past two years with possible ties to India, though they have not confirmed if Nijjar’s killing is among them.
Grewal stressed that shutting down India’s consulates would eliminate the diplomatic cover enabling these activities, which he believes threaten both Canadian safety and sovereignty.
