Why Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a wanted man in India

Amid growing threats of Khalistan in Canada, wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in Surrey, British Columbia province on Sunday evening. Some arrests have reportedly been made in the killing.

Nijjar, the head of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib and chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force, was attacked outside the place of worship. He reportedly succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

Confirming his death to CNN News18, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, chief of the banned pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), blamed Indian agencies for the death.

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?

Forty-six-year-old Nijjar was a wanted man in India. A native of Bhar Singh Pura village in Jalandhar, he worked as a plumber before being elected as the head of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara. He had a Canadian citizenship.

Nijjar led the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a Canada-based pro-Khalistan outfit, which organised training camps for extremists in British Columbia.

According to the Indian government, he was actively involved in the operations of KTF and financed its members. He was linked to Sikh for Justice and recently went to Australia for Khalistan referendum voting demanding a separate Punjav. He played a key role in organising a similar vote in Brampton, a city in Canada.

Nijjar featured on the Indian government’s recent list that named 40 other designated terrorists and was wanted for his involvement in acts of violence. The Centre had directed Canadian authorities to take action against him.

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When Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau visited India in February 2018, he was handed a list of criminals by then-Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, which included Nijjar’s name. The terrorist was arrested by Canadian authorities in April 2018 but was released without any charges being filed.

What crimes did Nijjar commit?

Nijjar had a history of crimes and has been accused of reviving Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), one of the oldest Khalistani terror groups based in Canada, by providing financial support to the outfit.

The Punjab Police has been on the lookout for the slain terrorist for decades. He was booked for his alleged involvement in an explosion near Satya Narayan temple in Patiala in the year 2010 and for plotting to kill religious leaders in the state. He was wanted in several terror-related cases in the state.

Nijjar had ties with Pakistan and visited the country in 2013 to meet Jagtar Singh Tara, who assassinated former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, and officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Tara was arrested in Thailand in 2015 and was awarded life imprisonment by a district court in Chandigarh, India.

In 2018, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Nijjar, where he was accused of sedition, promoting enmity between different religious groups, and criminal conspiracy, among others. According to the NIA, he posted objectionable content on social media to spread “insurrectionary imputations” through hateful speeches, reports The Indian Express.

In a note to the probe agency back then, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said that the KTF leader had planned to carry out a major terrorist attack in India. “He has been engaged in several activities that are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, such as sourcing finance to procure arms and ammunition and training Sikh youth for carrying out terrorist activities in India,” the ministry had said.

He was named in an NIA chargesheet in connection to killing a Hindu priest in Jalandhar in January 2021. Last year, the Punjab Police sought Nijjar’s extradition in cases related to reviving terrorism in the state. In 2022, the NIA declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh on him.

In Canada, he pushed the Khalistani agenda, even raising an 80-feet high Khalistani flag towering over the Indian tricolour at the Indian embassy in Vancouver.

Nijjar was also accused of killing Ripudaman Singh Malik, one of the accused in the 1985 Air India bombing case, who was later acquitted. The two were killed similarly – both shot dead in Surrey.

With inputs from agencies

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