Agents working at India’s high commission in Ottawa and embassies in Vancouver and Toronto were behind a spate of violent crimes across Canada targeting opponents of the Modi government, Global News has learned.
Although on paper they held diplomatic and diplomatic posts, Indian diplomats played a key role in shootings, murders, threats, arson and looting in Canada, according to senior sources familiar with the matter.
The victims were mostly supporters of the Khalistan movement, which is seeking independence in the Sikh-majority Punjab region. But others were rivals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, sources said.
The Canadian government announced on Monday that it would expel six Indian diplomats and diplomatic officials “in connection with a campaign aimed at targeting Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Indian government.”
The government has acted to “disrupt the chain of operations from Indian lawyers here in Canada to criminal organizations, directing violence against Canadians across the country,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
While Trudeau provided few details, sources told Global News that Indian politicians are using coercion, and sometimes money, to convince members of the public to gather information about their targets in Canada.
The images and intelligence they gathered were returned to their handlers at Indian embassies in Canada. Organized crime groups, particularly the Indian Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were then contracted to carry out the violence.
The High Commissioner of India, Sanjay Kumar Verma, is said to have overseen the process. Another lawyer based in Ottawa, along with two diplomatic officials in Toronto and two others in Vancouver, are said to be involved.
A typical situation involved an embassy or consulates holding visas for members of the South Asian community in Canada who needed to travel to India.
The victims were told that they could have a visa, but they would have to earn it by doing various jobs. In some cases, the payments were used to hire informants.
Their assigned duties included going to Sikh temples, and patrolling to find out when people left their homes for work each morning.
Incidents that police have blamed on the Indian government include everything from the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, BC, to the recent shooting incident on Vancouver Island where 14 bullets were fired at the home of a Punjabi singer.
Over the weekend, the RCMP informed India that the politicians were persons of interest in its investigation, and asked New Delhi to lift its communications immunity for the investigation.
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India responded by issuing a statement on Monday accusing Trudeau of playing politics. It also expelled six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner, Stewart Ross Wheeler.
At a news conference in Ottawa, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told reporters that investigators have linked Indian government agents to “serious criminal activities in Canada” that pose a “grave threat to public safety.”
“The investigation revealed that Indian politicians and diplomatic officials based in Canada used their official positions to engage in covert activities, such as collecting information for the Indian government, either directly or through their ambassadors; and other people who did it voluntarily or under coercion,” said Duheme.
“The evidence also shows that many organizations in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Indian government to collect information. “Some of these people and businesses were forced and threatened to work for the Indian government,” he said.
“Information collected from the Government of India is then used to identify members of the South Asian community.”
It is not unusual for a country to assign intelligence agents to an embassy or consulate under diplomatic cover. But it would be unusual for them to be involved in crime in their country of origin.
It is also illegal, but before the suspected agents can be charged, Ottawa will have to ensure that they are not protected by the immunity granted to foreign officials and diplomatic officials.
In this case, Canada appears to have decided not to prosecute and instead treat it as a diplomatic incident, informing the Indian government early Monday that it was expelling six diplomatic and diplomatic officials.
“We don’t want to go head to head with India,” said Foreign Minister Melanie Joly at a press conference. “But we will not remain silent as the embassies of any country are linked to attempts to threaten, torture or kill Canadians.”
The allegations point to a strategy by the Indian government to target prominent members of the international Khalistan movement, but also those who supported it less, and others with whom the Modi government had a beef.
India has repeatedly denied the allegations and on Monday called the suggestion that its high commissioner and other diplomats were involved “absurd.”
But the RCMP commissioner said a multi-agency task force was established in February 2024 to investigate and coordinate threats posed by the program, as well as related crimes.
“The team learned a wealth of information about the scope and depth of criminal activity organized by agents of the Indian government, as well as threats to the safety and security of Canadians and people living in Canada,” he said.
“Despite legal measures, the damage continues, endangering the safety of our community. We came to a point where we felt it necessary to confront the Indian government and inform the public about the serious findings revealed by our investigation.”
“The RCMP hopes to address these threats through our partnership with the Indian government and the National Investigation Agency with the ultimate goal of strengthening the safety and security of the Canadian public and the South Asian community.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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