Former Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma has said that Canada owes an apology to Indian diplomats who were accused in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, after recent developments in the investigation pointed towards gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s network rather than the Indian government.
Verma, who was among the Indian officials named as a “person of interest” by Canadian authorities and was later declared persona non grata, said the allegations had damaged not only diplomatic ties but also the lives of the officials and their families.
“An apology is in order”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Verma said former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should have waited for the investigation to be completed before publicly suggesting Indian involvement in the killing.
“Probably, the statement should have waited for the investigation to be completed so that it would have been based on some kind of due process. And that is what a mature statesman should do,” Verma said.
He added, “Probably the advisors let the former Prime Minister down, and he was ready to announce something for which there was no credible evidence, no credible end to the investigation.”
Verma said the accusations severely affected the officials who had to leave Canada, including himself. “All of us have suffered, and we know that our prestige can never be restored, the way in which it has been maligned. But at least an apology is in order,” he said.
US indictment names Bishnoi network, not Indian officials
The comments come days after the US Department of Justice indicted jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi for allegedly ordering Nijjar’s killing in 2023. The indictment followed a joint investigation involving agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe, which led to the arrest of 24 people linked to several Indian crime syndicates.
Verma pointed out that the investigation identified “non-state actors” and did not accuse the Indian government or any Indian diplomats. “They have identified non-state actors and clearly said which criminal gang has operated where and how and who its members are,” he said.
“The indictment which has been presented now in public does not include the state of India, the government of India, Indian officials, or diplomats.”
Canadian police also find no evidence against India
The former envoy’s remarks came after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland told CBC News that investigators had found no evidence connecting the Indian government to the organised crime investigation.
“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,” Moreland said.
The RCMP later clarified that Nijjar’s murder investigation is continuing separately and that no charges have been filed against any Indian government official in that case either.
Verma said the latest findings support India’s position from the very beginning. “When I put them together, I would say what we have been saying from day one, it is not the policy of the government of India to interfere in the internal affairs of any other country,” he said.
