Khalistani terror cells thrive in Canada: Indian intel shows alarming connections

The dossier exposes Canadian nationals' ties to proscribed groups, their activities, and weapon procurement for terrorist activities.

Published on: Sep 25, 2023, 09:04:53 IST

By Shishir Gupta

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When Indian security agencies approached their Canadian counterparts post-2014 with information about Khalistanis taking shelter in their country, Ottawa said that they could not receive intelligence from India as there was no institutionalized mechanism and that intelligence was not evidence. In line with FBI-RCMP protocol, the Indian NIA signed an MoU with RCMP in 2020 but nothing changed as the Justin Trudeau government continued to provide safe haven to Khalistanis for vote bank politics.

The relations between India and Canada have been strained with Trudeau's unsubstantiated allegation against India in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

Recent revelations by Indian intelligence have brought to light concerns over the presence of a Khalistan terror network operating in Canada. The dossier, provided by Indian authorities, identifies several Canadian nationals purportedly linked to the proscribed International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).

Khalistan terror in Canada: How Nijjar weaponized Khalistan, Trudeau looked the other way

Gurjit Singh Cheema

According to Indian intelligence, Gurjit Singh Cheema, a 50-year-old Canadian national originally from Punjab, is an ISYF/KLF member actively associated with the 'Singh Khalsa Sewa Club' in Toronto. Cheema currently resides in Brampton, Ontario, and works as a truck driver.

Cheema's visit to India in 2017 is said to have been for the purpose of operationalizing a module. Upon his arrival in India, he is alleged to have motivated and radicalized Gurpreet Singh Brar and Sukhmanpreet Singh. The dossier also reveals that Cheema lured Sarabjit Singh to join the module.

Cheema is also accused of procuring locally-made pistols and funds for module members in Punjab, which were purportedly used for carrying out terrorist activities. In May 2017, with the assistance of Pakistan-based Lakhvir Singh Rode and the late Harmeet Singh, alias PhD, a KLF operative, Cheema is alleged to have sourced a weapon consignment from across the border for ISYF module members.

Khalistan terror in Canada: KTF terrorist Arshdeep Dala has a killer record bigger than Nijjar

Gurjinder Singh Pannu

Gurjinder Singh Pannu, a 28-year-old Canadian national, is another individual mentioned in the intelligence dossier. Pannu currently resides in East Hamilton, Ontario, and is an ISYF/KLF activist actively associated with the 'Singh Khalsa Sewa Club' in Toronto.

According to the dossier, Pannu is alleged to have provided funds to ISYF module members in India in March 2017 for purchasing locally-made weapons and operationalizing their activities. He is also accused of sending funds to an individual named Balkar Singh in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, to facilitate the delivery of locally-made weapons to module members in India.

Pannu, like Gurjit Singh Cheema, is also alleged to have played a role in sourcing a weapon consignment from across the border in May 2017, with the assistance of Pakistan-based Rode and PhD, for ISYF module members.

Gurpreet Singh Brar

Gurpreet Singh Brar, a 38-year-old Canadian national holding Canadian passport No. H1820001, is one of the several pro-Khalistani elements mentioned in the intelligence dossier. He currently resides in Surrey, British Columbia, and is associated with the 'Singh Khalsa Sewa Club,' with Cheema as another active member.

The dossier indicates that Brar and Cheema were involved in forming a sub-club named “Singh Khalsa Sewa Club Dagru” in Punjab, under the supervision of Satpal Singh. During his visit to India in March 2016, Gurpreet Singh is alleged to have indoctrinated and motivated individuals to carry out terrorist activities.

Gurpreet Singh is accused of directing individuals to collect weapons, which were reportedly obtained from various sources, including Cheema and others. These weapons were intended for use by ISYF module members in Punjab.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shishir Gupta
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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