Top Modi minister ordered attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada, official says

India’s location curate Amit Shah sanctioned a question a violence targeting Sikh separatists across Canada, a elder authoritative successful the North American state said.

Mr Shah, premier curate Narendra Modi’s main lieutenant, was identified by Canadian information agencies arsenic the “senior authoritative successful India” who “authorised the intelligence-gathering missions and attacks connected Sikh separatists” successful the country, The Washington Post reported earlier this period based connected accusation supplied by a Canadian source.

The root was lawman overseas curate David Morrison. “The writer called maine and asked maine if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Mr Morrison told a parliamentary committee connected Tuesday.

He did not elaborate however the Canadian authorities had identified Mr Shah.

India was yet to respond to Mr Morrison’s connection oregon the allegations against Mr Shah much broadly by Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Morrison’s remarks came aft Canada this period expelled six Indian diplomats that it claimed were linked to the assassination of Sikh separatist person Hardeep Singh Nijjar successful British Columbia successful June 2023.

India antecedently denied the Canadian allegations and retaliated by expelling Canadian six diplomats.

Relations betwixt the 2 countries nosedived aft premier curate Justin Trudeau past twelvemonth said Canada had credible grounds that Indian agents were progressive successful the assassination of Nijjar.

This month, Mr Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went nationalist with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists successful the state by sharing accusation astir them with New Delhi.

Top Indian officials, successful turn, were giving the accusation to organised transgression groups to extort, intimidate and adjacent execution Canadian Sikh activists, they said.

India rejected the accusations arsenic absurd. It besides denied repeated Canadian assertions that Ottawa had shared grounds to enactment their allegations against Indian officials.

Canada is not the lone state to person accused Indian officials of plotting assassinations connected overseas soil.

The US Justice Department precocious brought transgression charges against an Indian authorities worker successful transportation with a foiled crippled to termination a Sikh separatist person successful New York City.

American authorities said Vikash Yadav directed the crippled from India and would look murder-for-hire charges. The foiled plot, they said, was meant to precede a drawstring of politically motivated murders successful the US and Canada.

Amid freezing relations with India, Canadian absorption person Pierre Poilievre cancelled a solemnisation of Hindu festival Diwali astatine the Parliament Hill successful Ottawa connected Wednesday.

The determination sparked a backlash from Indians successful Canada, including the organisers of the lawsuit who said they had received nary accusation astir calling disconnected the celebration.

Shiv Bhasker, president of the Overseas Friends of India Canada, called the determination “discriminatory” and “insensitive”.

“The abrupt withdrawal of governmental leaders from this event, prompted by the existent diplomatic concern betwixt Canada and India, has near america feeling betrayed and unjustly singled out," Mr Bhasker said.

The Independent has reached retired Mr Shah’s bureau for a comment.