On Monday, Canada accused the Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last June and expelled an Indian diplomat in Ottawa in retaliation.
Here are 5 points on Hardeep Singh Nijjar:
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down on June 18, 2023, in Canada. He was shot multiple times outside a Gurudwara in Surrey.
Nijjar was a native of the village Bhar Singh Pura in Jalandhar. He moved from Punjab to Canada in 1997 and worked as a plumber. He was married and had two sons.
He had a long tryst with Khalistan militancy since migrating to Canada. He was the "mastermind" of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) - a banned terrorist group. He was also part of the banned separatist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). He was declared a designated terrorist by India in 2020.
Nijjar was wanted in several cases, including the 2007 blast that killed six and injured around 40 people in Ludhiana, Punjab. He was also involved in the assassination of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat President Rulda Singh (Patiala, 2009).
Last July, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on Nijjar in connection with the murder of a Hindu priest in Jalandhar, Punjab. It is also probing the recent attacks on Indian diplomatic missions in Canada, UK and US.
