'If they need us to cooperate, we will' on slaying of Sikh activist, says India's envoy to Canada

OTTAWA — The High Commissioner of India to Canada says India “will take action” depending on the outcome of a court case involving four Indian nationals accused of murder in the killing of a prominent Sikh activist in British Columbia. 

Dinesh Patnaik said both countries are on “same page” that “if there is any evidence we have, we will give it to the Canadian side,” when asked about the case.

“I have been saying from the very beginning, and I reiterated it right now, the case is in court. If the case comes out that there are some individuals, whether it is government, non-government, or individuals from India, who are involved in it, we will take action,” he told National Post in a wide-ranging interview.

The envoy’s comments come ahead of an anticipated trip to India by Prime Minister Mark Carney, as his government seeks to re-establish ties and diversity its trading relationships in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic threats.

Canada-India relations had plummeted after former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced to the House of Commons in September 2023 that the country’s security agencies were pursuing “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist gunned down outside of a temple that June.

India had regarded Nijjar, an outspoken activist that advocated for the creation of a separate homeland for Sikhs within India, as a terrorist, but denied any involvement in his death.

In May 2024, the RCMP arrested and charged four Indian nationals with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Nijjar’s killing.

At the time Trudeau first revealed the allegations, India maintained that Canada did not provide evidence to back up allegations of its possible involvement, which Patnaik confirmed to National Post remains India’s position.

“We have discussed, but Canada doesn’t need to share evidence with us. There’s a court case going on, Canada needs to put the case in the court, that’s all,” he said.

However, he said that India was open to sharing evidence it may have.

“We both are on the same page in discussing, if there is any evidence we have, we will give it to the Canadian side…”

He later added: “If they need us to cooperate, we will. It’s a court investigation in Canada. If the Canadian side need any information, if the court directs Canadian side to ask for information, we (will) provide whatever we have.”

Canadian officials have previously cited a lack of cooperation from India into ongoing criminal investigations, but over the past year have expressed India’s willingness to collaborate.

Recently, India’s national security advisor met with Nathalie Drouin, Carney’s outgoing national security advisor, along with federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, which resulted in both announcing plans to appoint special liaison officers in each other’s high commissioner to better collaborate on issues from drug smuggling and fentanyl to other transnational crime.

Patnaik called that meeting “outstanding” in terms of building trust. “I saw the difference.”

When it comes to the Nijjar case, testimony provided to the Foreign Interference Commission, which held a public inquiry into concerns over meddling from countries — naming India in its 2025 report as the “second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada” — outlined meetings Canadian security and other government officials had with their Indian counterparts regarding the matter, over August and September 2023.

It also heard that David Vigneault, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, had met with his Indian counterparts in the lead up to the G20 meeting, where Trudeau travelled to India and directly raised those allegations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trudeau’s decision to publicize the allegations, which drew India’s ire, was spurred in part by a story his office was informed was about to break in the Globe and Mail newspaper and the fact that Canada’s attempts at having India acknowledge the allegations had so far failed.

Recently, an Indian national pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire plot that targeted a Sikh activist in New York City who U.S. prosecutors said was directed by an Indian government employee.

An unsealed indictment into the case against Nikhil Gupta, first charged in November 2023, alleges that he had informed an undercover officer whom he believed to have been a hired hitman, that Nijjar “was also the target” and that “we have so many targets.”

Speaking to National Post, Patnaik pointed to the U.S. case as one where India “cooperated with the American side,” but drew contrasts with how U.S. political figures handled the matter as compared to how it was navigated under Trudeau.

“The U.S side never once has said, We have a case going on. We will stop all relations with India … that’s how mature democracies work.”

In October 2024, RCMP publicly announced that it had through numerous investigations discovered evidence of Indian government agents’ involvement in violent crimes targeted at members of South Asian diaspora and of pro-Khalistan activists, which had been presented to Indian officials.

Citing a lack of cooperation from India, Canada expelled six of its diplomats, including India’s high commissioner, whom officials had identified as persons of interest in the Nijjar case. India also expelled Canadian diplomats.

The re-establishment of top envoys in both countries last summer came after Modi visited Canada as part of the G7, the invitation to which was the first step taken by Carney to mend relations.

The decision to reengage with India has been met with shock and anger from Sikh communities across Canada, who say they remain the targets of violent transnational repression.

National Post

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