Why does NIA want Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death certificate? Why is Canada not giving it?

In another signal of strained ties between New Delhi and Ottawa, Canada is yet to share the death certificate of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar sought by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Nijjar was gunned down by two assailants outside a gurudwara in the province of British Columbia last June.

He became the centre of tensions between India and Canada when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 alleged a “potential” involvement of Indian officials in his killing on Canadian soil. India rejected these charges as “absurd” and “motivated”, accusing Canada of harbouring extremists and anti-India elements.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?

Born in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Nijjar moved to Canada as a young man in 1997. He worked there as a plumber, got married and had two sons.

Residing in British Columbia, Nijjar became a vocal advocate of ‘Khalistan’, a separate homeland for Sikhs. He became the chief of the separatist organisation Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was “actively involved in operationalising, networking, training and financing” its members, as per the Indian government.

In 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) designated him a terrorist. Nijjar was linked to the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, which is banned in India.

Last February, the MHA notified KTF as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Nijjar was 45 years old when he was shot dead outside Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara, where he served as president, on June 18, 2023.

NIA’s charges against Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Nijjar was linked to an attack on a Hindu priest in Jalandhar in 2021. The NIA announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on him in 2022 in connection with the case.

Investigators found that Nijjar had made provocative remarks and posted objectionable content on social media platforms.

“The incriminating evidence… gathered substantiates that he is involved in exhorting seditionary and insurrectionary imputations and also attempting to create disharmony among different communities in India,” the NIA said in a document, as per Indian Express.

India’s counter-terrorism agency had also filed an FIR against Nijjar, Pannun and Paramjit Singh Pamma in December 2020 during the farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three farm laws, accusing them of conspiring to create an atmosphere of fear and lawlessness, causing disaffection among people and inciting people to rebel against the Indian government.

Canada ‘refuses’ to give Nijjar’s death certificate

An NIA official has said Canada has not shared Nijjar’s death certificate yet and has asked the agency to give a reason for seeking the document.

“Instead of sharing the death certificate, they asked us ‘why do you need it’,” a senior officer was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the newspaper that the NIA had sought the death certificate from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to update court records in multiple cases pending against Nijjar.

His death certificate was reportedly sought about six months back and Canada asked for a reason a couple of months ago.

“There are two cases registered with the NIA in which Nijjar was named as one of the accused. To complete the documentation work of their case files, the investigation officer needs to show his (Nijjar’s) death certificate before a Delhi court and that is why they have asked the Canadian government under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to share his death certificate. But instead of sharing it, they have asked the reason for asking it and now replies will be sent to them,” the agency official told Indian Express.

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India’s strained ties with Canada

In Septmeber 2023, PM Trudeau told the House of Commons that there were “credible allegations” about the Indian government’s link to Nijjar’s killing.

India has rejected the accusations and maintained that Canada has so far not provided a “shred of evidence” to back its claims.

Last week, as relations between the two sides further nosedived, Trudeau admitted he did not have “hard evidentiary proof” when he levelled allegations against the Indian government in September 2023 but had only intelligence.

“I was briefed on the fact that there was intelligence from Canada, and possibly from Five Eyes allies that made it fairly clear, incredibly clear, that India was involved in this… Agents of the Government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil,” he said while testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions.

In the latest flare-up, both countries have expelled each other’s top diplomats. For now, ties remain downgraded. Only time will tell when India-Canada relations will be back on track.

With input from agencies