Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder: US President Biden, others raised issue with PM Modi at G20, claims report

US President Joe Biden and other prominent leaders reportedly discussed Canada's concerns on Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing with PM Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit earlier this month, a report said on Thursday. Canada has claimed that India was "involved" in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Nijjar in Canada earlier this year.

Several members of the Five Eyes,  an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,  reportedly raised the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia with PM Modi, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the discussions at the summit. 

Nijjar was one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. He was gunned down on June 18.

The summit was held in India days before Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made his allegations public in an address to the Canadian parliament earlier this week. The leaders intervened at the G20 summit after Canada urged its allies to raise the case directly with PM Modi during the summit, the newspaper reported.

On Monday this week, Canadian PM Trudeau alleged the involvement of "agents of the Indian government" in the killing of Nijjar. Within hours, India rejected the claims calling the allegations "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

The crisis further deepened after India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.

Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, characterised this decision as a response to technical and security concerns. He announced on Thursday that India's high commission and consulates in Canada were temporarily unable to process visa applications due to safety threats.

 

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Earlier on Thursday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US is in touch with Indians at high levels following Ottawa's claims about the murder of the Sikh separatist leader in Canada, and Washington is giving India no "special exemption" in the matter.

Sullivan dismissed suggestions that the US's desire to bolster ties with India would constrain its ability to voice concerns about the allegations. He asserted that the Biden administration took Canada's allegations "seriously" and it was in "constant contact" with Ottawa.

“We are in constant contact with our Canadian counterparts,” Sullivan was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Sullivan "firmly" rejected the idea of a wedge between the US and Canada on this issue as indicated by a section of the media.

"We have deep concerns about the allegations and we would like to see this investigation carried forward and the perpetrators held to account. That is what the US has stood for from the moment this emerged in public and we will continue to stand for that until this fully plays its way out," he said.

Meanwhile, Trudeau on Thursday said India is a country of "growing importance" and that his government was "not looking to provoke or cause problems". 

While replying to a question about India's with the West and the silence of Canada's allies on the ongoing issue, Trudeau said: "There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with, not just in the region but around the world. We're not looking to provoke or cause problems. But we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians and standing up for our values."

He also called on the Indian government to "work with us" in the investigation. "That's why we call upon the government of India to work with us, to establish processes to uncover the truth of the matter and to allow justice and accountability to be served," said the Canadian PM.

(With agency inputs)

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