Sought Nijjar’s death certificate, were asked ‘why’: Indian officials

Canada has refused to share Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death certificate with India, straining relations amid allegations of Indian involvement in his murder.

Canadian authorities have refused to share the death certificate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader killed in Surrey last year, Indian officials said on Friday, highlighting the fraught relations that have spilled onto law enforcement cooperation as well.

Nijjar, 46, was fatally shot by masked assailants outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.(HT_PRINT)

Nijjar, 46, was fatally shot by masked assailants outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Canadian authorities have arrested four Indian nationals, charging them with first-degree murder and conspiracy and have accused India of being behind the plot — a charge New Delhi has called absurd.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), India’s counter-terrorism force, sought the death certificate from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to update court records in several pending cases against Nijjar, according to a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Instead of sharing the death certificate, they asked us ‘why do you need it’,” the official said, and added that it virtually meant they refused to share the details.

The NIA and RCMP have agency-to-agency coordination mechanisms in cases of terrorism and other serious crimes and have often shared information directly with each other in the past.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic crisis in September 2023, when he alleged Indian government agents were involved in Nijjar’s killing. Earlier this month, Trudeau cited RCMP findings, saying Canada has “clear and compelling evidence” of Indian government involvement in multiple threatening acts.

“This includes clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts including murder,” Trudeau said. “This is unacceptable.”

India has dismissed these allegations as “absurd” and says Canada hasn’t provided evidence. Both countries have expelled several diplomats, including Canada’s acting high commissioner Stewart Wheeler.

Indian authorities designated Nijjar as a terrorist, accusing him of involvement in targeted killings in Punjab and organising anti-India demonstrations worldwide through the banned organization Sikhs for Justice.

India has accused Canada of harbouring pro-Khalistan extremists. The ministry of external affairs spokesperson said last week that the Canadian side is yet to act on India’s requests to extradite 26 people and arrest several others accused of terrorism and serious crimes.