VANCOUVER (Diya TV) — The separatist group Sikhs for Justice accused the Russian Embassy in Canada of being behind the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, ratcheting up international tensions around the case. Nijjar, a supporter of the Khalistan movement that was deemed a terrorist by India, was shot and killed outside a Sikh temple in Surrey on June 18, 2023.
The group in a statement posted on X claimed the Russian Embassy hacked Nijjar’s Telegram account back in May 2023 and passed the information on to India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). It claims this led directly to Nijjar’s death.
Nijjar, 45, was the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey where two masked men gunned him down. Four men: Amandeep Singh, 22; Karan Brar, 22; Kamalpreet Singh, 22; and Karanpreet Singh, 28 have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the case.
Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun similarly claimed that his own Telegram account had been hacked, providing RAW operatives with his location in what he characterized as a “foiled murder-for-hire” attempt. Pannun, a New York-based lawyer who has also been deemed a terrorist by India, was also the apparent target in an alleged murder for hire plot orchestrated by Indian officials.
In late 2023, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing an Indian government employee of attempting to recruit an Indian national to arrange Pannun’s killing. The indictment did not name Pannun but U.S. officials had identified him as the target.
Pannun further accused Indian diplomats in Canada and the U.S. of operating surveillance networks aimed at suppressing pro-Khalistan campaigns in North America.
A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Canada denied the allegations, which are “completely false” according to an email received by the Surrey Now-Leader. “We will raise the issue of these dangerous activities of this group with Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP,” she added. “We will ask for law enforcement measures to be taken against this group and also demand improved security measures for the Embassy.
The CSIS did not comment on specific details as they need to protect their intelligence sources and methods.
Balraj Nijjar, the son of Nijjar, said that his father met with Canadian intelligence officers and the RCMP regularly about threats to his life. He claimed that his father was told to “stay at home” because of these threats, and had a meeting scheduled with CSIS two days after his death.
In October 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged India had violated Canada’s sovereignty by targeting Canadian citizens through murder, coercion, and extortion. The incident had resulted in the expelling of six Indian diplomats from Canada, with India responding in kind by expelling six Canadian envoys.
