 "Who is Khalistani extremist Arshdeep Dalla, Nijjar aide detained in Canada, who India wants to extradite?")
India is now seeking the extradition of Khalistani extremist Arshdeep Singh Gill aka Arsh Dalla.
Dalla, an aide of slain Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, has been detained by the Canadian Police.
The development occurred after a shooting on 28 October.
The Ministry of External Affairs, taking note of reports of Dalla’s arrest, said it expects Canada to extradite him and that it will ‘follow up on extradition requests,’ as per NDTV.
But who is Dalla? How was he arrested? And what do we know about India’s extradition treaty with Canada?
Let’s take a closer look:
Who is Arsh Dalla?
Dalla is a gangster, who was designated a terrorist by India in 2023.
The 28-year-old is associated with the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and ran terror modules on behalf of Nijjar , who was killed in Canada in June 2023.
Dalla was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, but he has recently lived in Surrey, British Columbia, with his wife and daughter.
The terrorist started becoming active in 2020 and is wanted for multiple murders in Punjab. He is also accused of extortion, terror financing and raising terror modules, targeted killings and cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons. He has links to the notorious Canadian gangster Goldy Brar and the terrorist group, International Sikh Youth Federation.
According to India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, Dalla is an accused in various cases registered and investigated by the National Investigation Agency including disturbing communal harmony and creating terror among the people in the state of Punjab. The Centre believes that Dalla is involved in terrorism and hence designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by exercising the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Act, the MHA notification had said.
Last year, Delhi Police said Dalla has links with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) .
Dalla took responsibility for the murder of Congress leader Baljinder Singh Balli, who was shot dead at his residence in Punjab’s Moga in September last year, reports The Times of India. He and Nijjar formed a three-member KTF module which was behind the murder of Tejinder Singh alias Pinka, a store owner in Moga.
He planned the killing of a Hindu president in Jalandhar in 2021 and was involved in the murders of a Dera Sacha Sauda disciple in November 2020 and criminal Sukhpreet Singh, reports Mint.
In January 2022, Dalla joined hands with Nijjar and planned to target Harmanbir Singh Gill, the then SSP of Moga and two inspectors of the crime investigation agency (CIA) wing in Moga.
How was he arrested?
According to NDTV, Dalla was taken in by the police after being injured in a gunfight with unknown assailants.
The incident occurred on October 28.
Dalla was initially taken to a hospital with bullet wounds to his right bicep.
Dalla was taken to Guelph Hospital.
However, he and his aide Gurjant Singh were arrested after the police found illegal weapons in his car.
Police found bullet marks on the driver side of their Dodge Durango SUV’ as well as the front window.
They also found two shell casings on the passenger’s seat – which indicated that Gill and Singh had returned fire.
However, The Times of India reported that Dalla was fired upon by his own aide and had fabricated the entire story to blame rival Lawrence Bishnoi.
Local police were initially unaware of who Dalla was.
However, they had asked for Dalla to be remanded to their custody for three days.
The police also carried out a search and seizure operation at Dalla’s home and alerted Canada’s federal police.
The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) on November 5 said that it had arrested two men on charges of “discharging firearm with intent” following an investigation after the duo had come to a hospital and one of them was treated for a gunshot and later discharged. It did not disclose their identity and said both accused “were held in custody pending a bail hearing”.
The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) was contacted by Gulep Police in the early morning hours of October 28 after two men were attended at a hospital in Gulep. One was treated and released for a non-threatening gunshot wound suffered in the Halton region while the other was not injured, according to a statement by Halton police.
“The HRPS Major Crime Bureau is now investigating and both males have been arrested. A 25-year-old male of Halton Hills and a 28-year-old male of Surrey BC have both been charged with Discharging Firearm with Intent,” the police statement said, adding they were actively investigating the incident.
Will Dalla be extradited? What about the extradition treaty between India and Canada?
While Dalla was held in late October, there is no information if he is still in jail.
NDTV noted that the Canadian authorities never confirmed Dalla’s identity.
According to the outlet, India has repeatedly shared information about Dalla with Canada but the authorities remain extremely reluctant to do so.
However, they are hopeful that this time will be different and that Dalla will be extradited soon.
But it may be a rather difficult task.
While Dalla is a wanted man in India, his detention in Canada is of little help to New Delhi.
“Extradition is a tough job and in today’s scenario (it is) next to impossible. (Also) they have not arrested him so far, only detained,” a source told CNN-News18.
As per The Print, the extradition treaty was signed between India and Canada in 1987.
The development came in the aftermath of the Air India Kanishka bombing which claimed 329 lives.
Just six fugitives sought by India have been returned from Canada between 2002 and 2020, according to the outlet.
In June 2023, a standing committee of Canada’s Parliament called for Ottawa to withdraw from extradition treaties with nearly a dozen nations including India that they said did not conform to “international human rights standards”.
“Authorities in Canada have been extremely reluctant to bring extradition proceedings for fear of backlash from an organised and well-funded Khalistan lobby,” an Indian police officer The Print
As per the outlet, Canada does not publish data on extraditions.
However, The Print quoted media reports sas showign that it extradited 681 of the 755 individuals sought by foreign governments between 2007 and 2018.
Ottawa, during that decade, received 1,210 extradition requests.
Which means nearly half the extradition requests did not meet the legal threshold..
Meanwhile, Indian government officials have been unable to gather any information because of the ongoing standoff between India and Canada.
The diplomatic channels between the two countries closed after Trudeau claimed that the Indian government was involved in the murder of Nijjar.
Last month, India and Canada expelled each other’s diplomats .
Canada, under pressure, has arrested India's most-wanted Terrorist, Arsh Dalla, in connection with a shooting incident in Canada following a brief shootout. Dalla is affiliated with the terrorist group Khalistan Tiger Force and was close to Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh… pic.twitter.com/YeNhXoVBVD
— Adv.Vineet Jindal (@vineetJindal19) November 10, 2024
Does Dalla continue to influence criminal activities in Punjab?
While the Khalistani terrorist is in Canada, his associates continue to operate in Punjab.
Earlier on Sunday, Punjab Police announced the arrest of two shooters of Arsh Dalla’s gang, who were allegedly involved in the murder of a Sikh activist last month, from Kharar in Mohali.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the arrest came in a joint operation of the state special operation cell, the Anti-gangster Task Force and Faridkot Police. The two were identified as Anmolpreet Singh alias Vishal, a resident of Bhadorh in Barnala and Navjot Singh alias Neetu, a resident of Nijjar Road in Kharar.
With inputs from agencies
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