No evidence links Indian officials in US probe into Nijjar killing: Canada

Washington: A senior Canadian law enforcement official has said that investigators have found no evidence linking Indian government officials to the US investigation that charged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and dozens of other members of three organised crime groups.

The clarification came after US authorities unsealed three federal indictments charging 37 defendants linked to transnational criminal organisations with offences including racketeering, murder, extortion, kidnappings and drug trafficking following a years-long multinational investigation spanning the United States, Canada and Europe.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland made the remarks when asked whether the investigation had uncovered evidence supporting allegations made by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that agents of the Indian government were connected to the June 2023 killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.

“There’s current people in Canada that are facing charges on that, so I can’t comment in relation to that investigation,” Moreland said, referring to the separate Canadian criminal case.

She then drew a distinction between that investigation and the indictments announced Tuesday.

“In relation to this matter today, as stated in the press conference, there’s no evidence to suggest that through this organised crime investigation and the charges and the indictment laid forward, that Indian officials were charged or were involved in this investigation,” she said.

Asked whether anything contained in the newly unsealed indictments supported allegations against the Indian government, Moreland replied: “No.”

She added: “What I would add… is that as with any good arrest, there’s over 50 search warrants that were conducted today, so various intelligence and evidence will be collected through there, and devices and the investigation is ongoing. But I firmly state… that nothing has come out today to link the Indian government.”

The US indictments accuse Lawrence Bishnoi, alleged North American leader Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, and members of two other criminal organisations of operating international networks involved in murder, extortion, kidnappings, narcotics trafficking and firearms offences across several countries.

The indictment alleges that Bishnoi and Brar ordered the June 18, 2023, assassination of a man, identified in court documents only as “H.S.N”, in Surrey, British Columbia.

Moreland also said Indian authorities cooperated with investigators throughout the multinational operation.

“What I can say to you is in this investigation, as you noted from our US partners, that the Indian government was cooperating in this investigation. We work shoulder and shoulder with the FBI and other agencies to address this,” she said. “Through the course of this investigation, it would highlight that that’s where we’re striving for.”

IANS