'Goldy Brar disappeared...': What envoy Sanjay Verma said on Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Canada

Sanjay Verma said India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy.

Senior Indian diplomat Sanjay Verma, who was recalled from Canada after the country said he was a “person of interest” in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case, has accused Canada of fostering criminals and gangs. He said gangster Goldy Brar, who was put on the wanted list after India's insistence, has “disappeared”.

Sanjay Verma, Indian envoy, who was recalled from Canada. (PTI)

"Canada has its gangs, and Goldy Brar is a name that we gave to them, Lawrence Bishnoi is a name that we gave to them. So, it is not that Canada or Canadian authorities woke up from their dreams and said, here is a Lawrence Bishnoi and here is a Goldy Brar, it was an Indian agency which told them about these two gangsters. Goldie Brar was living in Canada. On our request, he was put on the wanted list, and all of a sudden, he disappeared from the wanted list. What do I make out of it? Either he is arrested or he is not more wanted. Even that is not known to us," he told PTI in an interview.

Goldy Brar is an associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who is accused of plotting Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala's murder in 2022.

"And, in Canada, Goldy Brar runs just one gang, there are multiple similar gangs in Canada, which are not-so-transnational, but they are pan-Canada. So, when the turf war starts on drug trafficking or human trafficking and gunrunning, we have seen in various parts of the world that there are murders and killings," he added.

Sanjay Verma said India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy.

Verma, an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and a nuclear scientist has previously served as India's ambassador to Japan and Sudan.

“This is the pits. And, this is the most unprofessional approach to a bilateral relationship. If they believe it's a large relationship for them as well, there are other diplomatic tools available in the hands of a diplomat, and that tool could have been used to see things falling in place,” he said.

Verma said that extreme hardline Khalistanis are only about 10,000 in number, and supporters amount to perhaps 1 lakh in a Sikh population of about 8 lakh.

"To get support they intimidate common Sikhs there, including with threats such as 'we know where your daughter is studying'" Verma said.

"The Khalistanis have made Khalistan into a business in Canada. In the name of Khalistan, they do human trafficking, drug trafficking, gun-running, prostitution and all. They earn a lot of money through that and also through gurudwaras and they use part of that money for all nefarious jobs," he said.

Canada has accused Indian officials of being involved in the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has called the allegations absurd and motivated.

With inputs from PTI