Canadian police say no evidence linking Indian government to Nijjar killing
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have stated that there is no evidence linking Indian government officials to the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistani separatist. This development comes nearly three years after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Canadian security agencies were probing credible allegations of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder.
Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland told CBC News: 'There is no evidence to suggest that through this organised crime syndicate investigation and the charges laid forward that Indian government officials would be charged or involved in this….nothing has come out to link the Indian government.'
Trudeau's earlier allegations, which India had rejected as 'absurd' and 'motivated', had strained bilateral ties between the two countries. The RCMP has clarified that investigations are still underway, based on recent arrests and seizures.
The statement came hours after law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, and Europe arrested 24 people—11 of them in California—connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups. These groups have been charged with several criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination.
Newly unsealed indictments by the US Department of Justice identified Lawrence Bishnoi, a 33-year-old gangster long imprisoned in India, as responsible for Nijjar's killing. The indictments also charged Satinderjeet Singh (alias Goldy Brar), Rohit Godara, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, among others.
The US Department of Justice described 'Operation Hard Ball' as a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates involved in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, and drug trafficking. The operation has resulted in charges against 37 defendants, including two who ran their syndicates from prison in India. Law enforcement seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash, and a dozen firearms. Ten fugitives remain at large.
