Recalled Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma Canada says Canada has zero evidence against India’s in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He also accuses the Canadian intelligence of protecting the separatists
Our Bureau
New Delhi/ Ottawa
Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was targeted by Justin Trudeau’s government as a ‘person of interest’ in the murder investigation of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar reiterated today that “not a shred of evidence was shared” with him by the Canadian authorities.
In an interview, he said that Canada has “Zero, zilch, nothing” as evidence against alleged ‘India’s hand’ in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Stating that India is also an English-speaking country in a way, Verma also questioned the term “credible allegations,” which PM Justin Trudeau had used in the Canadian Parliament, saying, “What are credible allegations? Either they are credible or they are allegations.”
Verma further questioned the legal inaction of the Canadian government and emphasized the lack of legally acceptable evidence, saying, “Why have they not gone to the court of law in Canada?”
“Zero zilch. Nothing. So, so far what I have heard is what they keep saying in the media, credible allegations are there. No, come on. We are also an English-speaking country in a way. So, what are credible allegations? Either they are credible or they are allegations. So, no evidence present, shared with us, no evidence, nothing which is judicially, legally acceptable presented to us. We are a country of the rule of law. So, if you want to act upon the evidence then you give to us, it has to be legally acceptable,” Verma said.
Verma was recalled from Canada after the country said he was a person of interest in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case; however, he denied all charges levelled against him by Ottawa in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The ties between India and Canada soured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.
Expressing his shock at the allegations made by Canada while investigating the case without providing any “evidentiary proof”, Verma said, “RCMP is the federal agency with federal oversight of investigations. So, they are still conducting…nothing has been concluded. And that is what baffles me. How can a responsible head of government say what the investigations are going on, and what are the contents of the ongoing investigation? In most of the law-abiding country, this is a crime. That you are an official, you are a government official as the head of the government. And you are spilling the beans.”
Verma also asserted that the RCMP is still conducting the investigation. Reiterating his statement about why Canada has not approached the court, Verma said, “What is stopping them from presenting to their court of law legally acceptable so-called evidence? So, for all I know, there is no evidence. These are hearsay. So even if you look at the Foreign Interference Commission hearings, it’s going on, in the last phase. In most of the documents where India was mentioned, it says, in many instances, it says, this information is single-sourced,” Verma said.
The recalled Indian envoy further stated that Khalistani extremists and terrorists are all India baiters and they do not have an interest in better Canada-India relations. “These Khalistani extremists and terrorists are all India baiters. They do not have an interest in Canada-India relations either on their mind, better Canada-India relations. So, if you source your information like that without any corroboration, single-source information, you can draw whatever conclusion you want, but that cannot be treated as evidence,” he added.
Sanjay Verma was recalled from Canada after the country said he was a person of interest in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case; however, he denied all charges levelled against him by Ottawa.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, on Friday shared a terrifying moment when Khalistani ‘goons’ came very close to bodily harm him and attacked him with a ‘sharp object’ most likely a ‘kirpan’ in Alberta that could potentially harm him. Sanjay Verma said, “All these attempts to harm me bodily, that was in the presence of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the local police and the local police on the ground took immediate action, pushed him away because there was a sharp weapon and the RCMP then whisked me from the side door to the venue.”
“It was in Alberta. I am not an expert on Canadian law about open carrying so I will not be able to say that. But most likely they would have said that it was ‘kirpan’ which is a small blade whereas they had swords in their hand. They could come very, very close to me,” said Verma.
When asked if the incident was reported, Sanjay Verma said, “It was all reported and we were told that investigations are on.”
When asked if he at any point in time he felt threatened physically? Sanjay Verma replied, ” Threatened, yes. But did I become threatened? No. In most of my public events, there will be these hooligans outside shouting slogans against India, but also against me. Some of them are very burly-looking tall guys who would also gesture to physically harm me, but just the gestures, except for a few incidents. And so, they tried.”
High Commissioner Verma said that he was there to serve India’s national interest and was committed to doing so. “So, diplomacy for most of us would be, you know, being nice, nice cities. But then the final objective of diplomacy happens to be to safeguard your national interest. National interest could be improving relationships. National interest could be raising awareness against these Khalistani goons. All these are national interests,” he said.
Sanjay Verma clearly said that only a small percentage of Canadian Sikhs supported the Khalistani cause and if Canada cared about that then they should “give a place to them and call it Khalistan”. Sanjay Verma asserted Khalistani extremists and terrorists are challenging Indian territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“These are Canadian citizens challenging Indian territorial integrity and sovereignty. As long as these people, these Khalistani extremists and terrorists keep talking about Canada, I have no issues. That’s their domestic issue. They can do whatever they want. As soon as they look at dividing India, then it is my problem. And that problem, I will certainly take to the Canadian authorities to say that listen, you have to resolve this,” Verma said
“They want a country for themselves. I would say if Canada wants them to be there and they are so kind to them, Canada is a huge country. Give a space to them, call it Khalistan,” Verma said. He affirmed that “if Khalistan is to be made, it is in Canada, never in India.”
Verma said that the Khalistani elements had managed to build a narrative that they represented the Sikh community in Canada which was not true. “Indo-Canadian community is those people who are Canadian citizens of Indian origin. 98% of them go about doing what they do living peacefully, taking care of the family, contributing to the Canadian economy, etc. But others are very vocal. And as we have said that those babies who cry louder will get attention.”
Defending his remarks that some Khalistani extremists and terrorists are “deep assets” of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Indian envoy Sanjay Kumar Verma has said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations against India “without evidence” and he also made remarks in the same vein.
He was asked if Canada will accept his allegations of Khalistani terrorists and extremists are the deep assets of the Canadian intelligence agency. “As Canadian PM Justin Trudeau got up in parliament and accused Govt of India agents to have orchestrated murder on Canadian soil, I said in the same way that the Khalistani terrorists and extremists are the deep assets of the Canadian intelligence agency. He (Trudeau) said without evidence, and So am I. Will you accept my conclusion? This is what I wanted to say that nothing should be accepted without credible evidence, allegations are just allegations. Therefore, I am not exactly saying there are connections but there may be connections,” Verma said.
