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Canada leader refutes media report linking Bishnoi gang activities to Indian govt
BC Premier David Eby denies media claims linking the Indian government to the Bishnoi gang, citing concerns over misinformation during his trade mission to India.
The leader of the Canadian province of British Columbia or BC has refuted a media report that linked the Indian government to the violent activities of the Bishnoi gang in Canada.
BC Premier David Eby, currently on a trade mission to India, said, “It turned out to be a three-page briefing note, and the paragraph in question that was cited in the initial news report was a summary of publicly available news articles from the October 2024 period, allegations we were aware of that were very fully canvassed at the time, citing news outlets like Al-Jazeera.” He was speaking to Canadian media via video link. “This was not an RCMP intelligence report,” he said.
Eby said his delegation was “incredibly concerned” after the report appeared and “almost cancelled meetings” in India till they were “able to see the full document.”
Expressing his frustration over the development, Eby said they had been “extremely careful” prior to embarking on a trade mission to India and had briefings from Canada’s Ministry of National Defence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and had multiple exchanges with the Federal Government to understand the current state of the relationship between the two countries.
Eby said “concerns” on both sides were being “resolved” at the Federal level.
The report in the outlet Global News appeared a day after Eby began the mission to India on January 12.
It was headlined, “RCMP report says Bishnoi gang ‘acting on behalf of’ Indian government.” However, the report itself, citing an assessment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP, noted it said the gang was “allegedly acting on behalf of the Indian government.”
In a follow-up, the outlet said that in the listing of the Bishnoi gang as a terror entity by Public Safety Canada, there was no reference to a connection to India.
Instead, a Public Safety Canada spokesperson told the outlet, “Addressing transnational crime is a priority for both Canada and India. As the gang has networks in both countries, Canada remains committed to working with our key partners to counter terrorist organisations and their fundraisers.”
It stated, “The Bishnoi gang has been linked to a number of violent crimes and murders in India”, and added, “Indian authorities have already laid multiple charges against the gang; a number of gang members have also been sentenced to prison, and its leader has been in prison in India since 2014.”
As part of the ongoing law enforcement and security dialogue between the two countries, there is cooperation on tackling the menace such translocational gangs pose to both India and Canada, a senior Indian official told the Hindustan Times, adding that this has led to arrests in both countries.
In September last year, Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Advisor or NSIA Nathalie G Drouin met NSA Ajit Doval in New Delhi. After returning to Ottawa, she said, “It was a productive meeting where we established a channel of communication to talk about respective concerns.”
“We have a common understanding and common goal here. They want us to be very clear in terms of One India and the respect of the integrity of their territory and what we want is safer streets in Canada,” she added
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme accompanied Drouin on that visit, and later said, “It’s important just to build relationships with India.”
In an interview with the public broadcaster CBC News recently, India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Dinesh Patnaik had addressed the matter of allegations made without proof. “When I accuse you and you tell me evidence is not enough, I agree with it,” he said, adding, “When you accuse me and I tell you evidence is not enough, please accept it with the same alacrity.”
The trip by Eby, who is from the New Democratic Party or NDP, assumed significance as pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in the town of Surrey in the province on June 18, 2023, an event that subsequently led to cratering of relations between Canada and India.
It marked another step in the renewal of ties between the two countries after then PM Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and Nijjar’s murder three months earlier. India had described those accusations as “absurd” and “motivated.”
