Canada Acts Against India-Bound Travellers

“This may well be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back in preventing me from going to India; I already have so many health problems and my own government is harassing me and planning to cause me exacerbate my health further.” -anonymous senior citizen planning to go to India in January, 2025

In a seemingly hostile step masquerading as a security directive, the Trudeau government in Canada announced heightened security measures for India-bound fliers constituting blatant harassment of Indo-Canadians and other citizens who intend to go to India.

Adding insult to injury, this was announced by Canada’s first Indo-Canadian female cabinet minister, (Hon.) Anita Anand who said the increased security was “out of an abundance of caution.” No other explanation was given.

Travelers to India will now, not only have to appear at airports four hours in advance of their flight but they also must submit to forced hand-swabs and additional screenings. All baggage is required to be x-rayed and Air Canada has already warned passengers of additional delays due to the new and unprecedented measures.

Transport Canada has issued a multitude of travel warnings for Canadians visiting countries in which there are risks to Canadians such as Bangladesh, Haiti, and Myanmar, to name just a few. However, no “abundance of caution” measures have been applied to travelers going to those countries. India, a peaceful democracy with friendly relations with Western nations, has been singled out.

One senior who asked to remain anonymous mentioned that the new security protocol will severely impact his health as he plans to travel to India this winter.

Air India flights have been threatened by US-based Canadian citizen, Khalistani-supporting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Bomb threats have been affecting flight paths of Air India flights in the wake of the threat by Pannun, head of the organization called Sikhs for Justice who are using threats to burnish their cause of breaking the geographic integrity of the Republic of India in the hopes of creating a homeland for Sikhs that less than one percent of Sikhs in India favor.

Indeed, Terry Milewski in his book, Blood for Blood: Fifty Years of the Global Khalistan Project (HarperCollins India, 2021) writes of the state election in Punjab of 2017, “the separatists won just 0.32 percent of the votes. Repudiation doesn’t get much clearer than that. They didn’t even get close to 1 per cent. More voters, in fact, picked ‘NOTA’ – None Of The Above.”

Despite Canada having a law against “inciting hate,” Pannun has not even been questioned by Canadian authorities let alone charged with a hate crime. While the separatist mouthpiece resides in the US and also holds citizenship of that country, if Canada wanted, the USA would likely extradite him to Canada given the close relationship and firm extradition treaty between the two nations.

If the government of Canada has any intelligence that planes to India may be targeted by terrorists, they should act against the terrorists – not the passengers. The notion that harassing regular passengers is going to somehow deter someone with harmful intent from carrying out an act of terrorism is laughable.

The CSIS and the RCMP know who the likely terrorists are. Instead of acting against them, they are working with them, perhaps even recruiting them.

Instead of going after the terrorists wire they live,  India-bound fliers have been punished.

Transport Minister, Anita Anand announces unprecedented hurdles for India-bound flyers amidst “an abundance of caution”

This is an unprecedented turn of events that clearly indicates that Justin Trudeau is far from interested in diplomatic rapprochement or de-escalation of tensions with India. The relationship had soured after Trudeau made a statement in the House of Commons accusing agents of the Indian government of being involved in the murder of a three-time fraudster and accused murderer/ terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, then leader of the Khalistan Tiger force, which is allegedly funded by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency and trains terrorists to carry out attacks in India. Nijjar, who had two Interpol Red Notices against him, had been among the twenty-six alleged criminals and terrorists for which extradition requests had been provided to Canada.

Nijjar arrived in Canada on February 10th, 1997 using a false passport with a fake name, Ravi Sharma, which is a crime. He made a refugee claim, which alleged he had been tortured by police in state of Punjab in India, producing a doctor’s certificate saying so. However, the certificate was judged by Canadian Immigration authorities then to be a forgery (another crime) and the claim was rejected.

At the time, he was a suspect in the murder of Punjab’s Chief Minister in 1995, Beant Singh – fact, which he hid from Canadian immigration authorities – lying about criminal charges on an immigration or refugee form is an offence punishable by immediate deportation and potential permanent ban from Canada. The fraud is supposed to go on the individual’s record, according to the Canada.ca.

Indeed, the same website states that once a refugee claim is rejected the applicant must either leave Canada or face deportation. Nijjar did not face these consequences, however. A mere eleven days after his refugee claim was rejected, Nijjar married a woman with Canadian citizenship. Officials noted that the woman had arrived in Canada during the same year, married to another man, and rejected the claim as a marriage of convenience. In 2001, Nijjar appealed this ruling but lost.

Nijjar was still not deported. How he was permitted to stay in Canada and on what basis is unknown and remains a mystery. Normally the path to Citizenship is to first be granted Permanent Resident status, stay in Canada for a cumulative time period of five years, and then one is eligible to apply for citizenship. There is no record that Nijjar was granted a PR card. However, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller took to social media platform X, on on September 19, 2023, and shared a post saying Nijjar was granted citizenship on March 3, 2015. Later he stated that Nijjar became a Canadian citizen on May 25th, 2007.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar on X posing with AK 47, an illegal weapon in Canada (one of several Canadian criminal offences that went unprosecuted; indeed, Nijjar was never even questioned about these quite well established Canadian offences and alleged Indian offences)

It is interesting that the date was revised by the minister because if the original date was, indeed, when Nijjar obtained Canadian citizenship, it would have been after a Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol against Nijjar in connection with the killing of a policeman. Obviously, the admission that Nijjar obtained citizenship after such a notice was transmitted to Canadian authorities, would have been a tremendous embarrassment for the government. But the date of citizenship was revised and no press inquiries – no Access to Information Requests were filed by any press outlet to verify the date of citizenship of Nijjar or whether he ever held a PR card – and when that was issued. Such facts were irrelevant to the narrative that the Canadian media swallowed on the Indian government ordering a hit on Nijjar.

Interestingly, in 2007, the year that Miller stated Nijjar became a citizen after correcting himself on the date, a bomb blast at a movie theater in Ludhiana, Punjab, killing 6 people and injuring 12. In the process of this investigation, some suspects implicated Nijjar in the bombing. Another Red Corner notice by Interpol was issued in 2016 but Nijjar but no record has been released that Nijjar was ever even questioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s national police force.

During 2013-14, Nijjar journeyed to Pakistan where he is alleged to have met terrorist, Jagtar Singh Tara of the Babbar Khalsa International, wanted – a banned organization in Canada, India, the USA, Japan, and Australia and leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force. Sources said the Pakistan’s ISI roped in Nijjar and helped him in organising training camps for extremist groups associated with the Khalistan movement. Tara’s lawyer claimed that after Tara’s arrest, Nijjar succeeded him as head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is allegedly funded by the ISI and carries out terrorist training for operations in India.

Nijjar also became leader of the Canadian branch of Sikhs for Justice an organization based in the USA and run by dual American/Canadian citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who has made multiple threats against Canadians of Indian origin, Indian Diplomats, Hindu temples, and Air India commercial aircraft.

In July 2020, India declared Nijjar as an “individual terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a Rs 10-lakh bounty on his head in July 2022.

On 18 June 2023, Nijjar was shot and killed in his pickup truck by two masked gunmen in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Somehow, The Washington Post got hold of video surveillance footage of the attack, alleging that it was coordinated and involved two vehicles and six men.

On 18 September 2023, Trudeau stated in the Canadian House of Commons that, “Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India” and Nijjar’s killing.” He later admitted at a public enquiry on foreign interference in Canada that when that statement was made, it was based on intelligence reporting and not evidentiary proof.

Trudeau’s statement has been criticized as irresponsible in diplomatic circles.

Indeed, Canadian authorities doubled down on Trudeau’s claim when the RCMP called six Indian diplomats including High Commissioner, Sanjay Kumar Verma, ‘persons of interest’ in the various criminal investigations. Canada requested that India waive diplomatic immunity for these individuals even though they failed to question Nijjar about the two Red Corner notices against him and information provided about his criminal activities in India by the government of India. India refused and recalled their diplomats, fearing for their safety as Khalistanis called for their murders. Canada then said it had expelled them. India expelled six Canadian diplmats including the Acting High Commissioner to India.

The accusations have emboldened Khalistanis and they attacked a number of temples and Hindu Canadian congregants during a period of religious service. Initially, nobody was arrested. Indeed, a member of the Peel Regional police was found to be waiving a Khalistan flag at the incident and shouting anti-India slogans, and was subsequently suspended due to the public outcry.

Speaking to TGC, forty-five year veteran of Canadian law enforcement and award-winning anti-corruption investigator, Donald Best said, “I don’t know how he can continue in the police force,” adding that not only had he committed a crime by participating in a demonstration at a place of worship but also having destroyed all trust with the Hindu Canadian community in Brampton.

Peel Regional Police Sergeant Harinder Sohi, initially suspended for participating in violent anti-Hindu demonstration at the Brampton Hindu Sabha Temple (a crime) has been cleared by his superiors and is back on duty when law enforcement and anti-corruption expert, Donald Best, himself a former Canadian police sergeant said he should have been fired or prosecuted.

Later, police have arrested Khalistani thug, Inderjeet Singh Ghosal on charges of assault with a weapon following a violent attack at the Brampton Hindu Sabha temple on Nov 3rd.

Ghosal was identified as having succeeded Nijjar as Canadian head of Sikhs for Justice and the Khalistan and who had organised the violent demonstration. He seems to have been taking his marching orders from SFJ leader Pannun, who called for Sikh youth to disrupt the celebrations of Diwali in Canada. The violence occurred during Diwali weekend.

Ghosal was picked up on Nov 8 after police analysed the video footage of the demonstration. He was released on bail and is expected to have his day in court.

In an unrelated case, India’s most wanted terrorist, Arsh Dalla whose legal name is Arshdeep Singh Gill was arrested on October 28th. Speaking to Canadian broadcaster, CTV News, Ritesh Lakhi, a well-connected independent journalist in India, says Dalla is “a very prominent player, as far as organized crime in the north state of Punjab.”

In January of 2023, the Indian government put out a public notification announcing that Dalla had been added to India’s list of terrorists. Dalla has fifty-eight pending criminal cases against him in India. He has publicly claimed responsibility for multiple murders, including a targeted hit on a local politician in Punjab, and is reported to have succeeded Nijjar as leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force.

Lakhi says that during previous conversations with Dalla, he even admitted his role in some of the murders, telling CTV News that Dalla “would simply call me up. I did a few interviews with him, and he would tell me why he killed this person. We’ve been watching his activities for the last three and a half years.” Lakhi added that there are certain gangsters who are also involved in terrorism and Arsh Dalla is among them.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (left) leader of Sikhs for Justice called for young Sikhs to disrupt Diwali celebrations. Inderjeet Singh Gopal Canadian head of SFJ headed that call and led the violence against Hindus on November 3rd at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Brampton

In March of this year, the Indian Express posted that the Indian government shared Dalla’s coordinates with Canadian officials requesting his arrest. An extradition request was also made in 2023, which has been recently “renewed” according to Indian officials. The Canadian government failed to act on India’s request.

In a related CTV news report, former CSIS terrorism analyst, Phil Gurski, told the broadcaster that because Dalla has been arrested and charged following a shooting in Canada, it doesn’t appear to him that the Canadian government acted on India’s alleged request to arrest Dalla.

Indeed, if the Canadian government proceeds with the gun charge, it is unlikely Dalla will be extradited. Because of the extent of evidence provided to support the extradition of Dalla experts in both Canada and India were optimistic that the Dalla extradition could offer a way out of the current diplomatic morass.

Instead, Canada has taken discriminatory steps against India-bound travellers.

Speaking to CTV, Gurski concluded: “If Canada doesn’t take action that India feels is necessary, there are people in India who would say, ‘We have no choice. Canada has ignored our

requests. This is a dangerous individual. We have to take care of him ourselves.”

That is probably how we got here in the first place.

In his young life, gangster turned terrorist, Arsh Dalla has garnered 58 criminal cases against him including murder, attempt to murder, financing terrorism, arms trafficking, and extortion, among others. Succeeding Hardeep Singh NIjjar as leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force, his terrorist network spans Canada, the USA, and the Middle East. He is currently India’s most wanted criminal.