Canadian Sikhs call for protests outside Indian diplomatic missions

The Canadian Sikh organization ‘Sikhs for Justice’ has appealed to its members to protest outside Indian diplomatic missions in major Canadian cities today, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed India for the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia a week ago. The possibility of involvement was shown.

According to the report of foreign news agency “Reuters”, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that Canada is investigating important allegations that agents of the Indian government may be involved in the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nagar.

It should be noted that on June 18 this year, a Sikh separatist leader was shot dead outside a Sikh gurdwara in the suburbs of Vancouver, Canada.

India immediately denied any role in the killing and termed the allegations as ‘ridiculous’.

However, these allegations have led to tension between the two countries, with both countries expelling senior diplomats and India suspending visa services for Canadian citizens.

Jitendra Singh Grewal, director of Sikhs for Justice in Canada, said yesterday that his organization would lead protests outside Indian embassies and consulates in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver to raise public awareness of the leader’s murder. .

He had said that we are asking Canada to expel the Indian ambassador, but India’s diplomatic representatives in Ottawa and Toronto did not immediately comment on this.

The Toronto Police Department said it was aware of the planned protests today, but declined to provide details on security preparations or a possible response to any violent situations that may arise during the protests.

Hardeep Singh Nagar worked as a plumber in Canada who left the northern Indian state of Punjab a quarter of a century ago to become a Canadian citizen.

Hardeep Singh Nagar supported the creation of an independent Sikh state of Khalistan following moving to Canada from Punjab, following which India designated him as a ‘terrorist’ in July 2020.