Amid massive diplomatic row over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim over the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a massive crackdown has been initiated by the government of India through its agencies against Khalistani terrorists.
Meanwhile, United Hindu Front working president and BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal has also slammed Trudeau and asked him to break up a part of Canada to form a new Khalistan country if he supported the “anti-India Khalistanis”.
“If the Prime Minister of Canada loves Khalistanis so much, then why doesn’t he break up a part of Canada and create a new Khalistan country? We will be the first to give him recognition,” Goyal reportedly said.
The United Hindu Front on Sunday also held a protest against Justin Trudeau at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where they expressed their disapproval against the Canadian Prime Minister’s alleged support and protection of anti-India Khalistanis.
“During the G20, India’s flag flew high across the world, so Trudeau feels sad over India’s G20 success. This is not the first time that Canada has interfered in our internal affairs, even before this there were farmer protests. There are many cases in which Canada has gone against India and supported the Khalistanis, and has interfered in our internal affairs,” said Goyal.
Goyal claimed that they have submitted a memorandum to the Canadian Embassy and have also sent a letter through the mail to the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau regarding our protest, along with this they have also informed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
NIA crackdown:
Meanwhile, India’s anti-terror federal probe agency NIA has further tightened its noose around Canada-based self-styled General Counsel of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Gurpatwant Singh Pannu.
A senior NIA official said properties of Pannu, a ‘designated individual terrorist’ in India, have been confiscated. The confiscated properties include house and land in Punjab’s Amritsar and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, he added.
The official said, “The action, which comes as a big boost to the country’s crackdown on the terror and secessionist network being operated from various countries, including Canada, followed confiscation orders passed by the NIA Special Court, SAS Nagar, Mohali.”
Of late, Pannu has been in news for issuing blatant threats to senior Indian diplomats and government functionaries in public forums. He had also threatened Canadian Hindus a few days back, asking them to leave Canada and claiming that they had adopted a ‘jingoistic approach’ by siding with India.
Pannu has been on the NIA’s radar since 2019, when the anti-terror federal agency had registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics. “Non-Bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannu by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021 and he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender (PO)’ on November 29 last year,” the official said.
“The properties confiscated on Saturday (Sept 23, 2023) include 46 kanal agricultural land situated in Village Khankot, Amritsar, and 1/4th share of House Number 2033, Sector 15/C, Chandigarh (U.T.). These properties were earlier attached following orders passed by the government in two different cases. The properties have now been confiscated on the court’s orders under section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, in case RC-19/2020/NIA/DLI dated 5th April 2020, registered under sections 120-B, 124-A, 153-A 153-B and 17, 18 and 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” the NIA said.
Moreover, after confiscating two properties of Pannu in Punjab and Chandigarh, sources in the government said the NIA is also exploring options to seize assets belonging to 19 other fugitive Khalistani terrorists based outside India under provisions of the UAPA.
The NIA has prepared a list of 19 fugitive Khalistani extremists, who are residents of the UK, the US, Canada, Dubai and Pakistan, among other countries, whose properties are likely to be confiscated, the sources said.
They are Paramjit Singh Pamma, Kulwant Singh Muthra, Sukhpal Singh, Sarabjeet Singh Bennur, Kulwant Singh alias Kanta, Gurpreet Singh alias Baaghi and Dupinder Jeet (in UK), Wadhwa Singh Babbar alias Chacha, Ranjit Singh Neeta (in Pakistan), Jay Dhaliwal, Harpreet Singh alias Rana Singh, Harjap Singh alias Jappy Singh, Amardeep Singh Poorewal and S Himmat Singh (US), Jasmeet Singh Hakimzada (Dubai), Gurjant Singh Dhillon (Australia), Lakhbir Singh Rode (Europe) and Canada and Jatinder Singh Grewal (Canada).
Intelligence Inputs:
According to officials, when the Indian security agencies approached their Canadian counterparts after the change of government in India in 2014 with information about Khalistanis taking shelter in their country, the Canadian agencies said that they could not receive intelligence from India as there was no institutionalised mechanism and that intelligence was not evidence.
In line with FBI-RCMP protocol, the NIA from India signed an MoU with RCMP in 2020 but nothing changed as the Justin Trudeau government continued to provide safe haven to Khalistanis for vote bank politics, they said.
Recent revelations by Indian intelligence have brought to light concerns over the presence of a Khalistan terror network operating in Canada. The dossier, provided by Indian authorities, identifies several Canadian nationals purportedly linked to the proscribed International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).
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