Ottawa, October 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, has challenged the Canadian government to produce evidence linking Indian officials to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying India is prepared to take action if any involvement is established.
In an interview with CPAC’s Open Question, hosted by Marc-Andre Cossette and posted on October 9, Patnaik questioned why Canada had not presented evidence nearly three years after then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the allegations in Parliament.
“It’s been almost three years since Prime Minister Trudeau spoke in parliament. Where is the evidence?” Patnaik asked.
He said India was willing to act against anyone found to be involved in the killing, provided credible evidence was produced. India had rejected Trudeau’s September 2023 allegation of a potential link between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s murder as absurd.
Patnaik declined to comment on the trial of four individuals in Surrey, British Columbia, in connection with the case, saying the matter was before the court. He reiterated that India would take action if evidence established the involvement of people in the country.
Referring to Operation Hardball, a US-led investigation, Patnaik said arrests had been made in the United States and Canada and alleged links to the Bishnoi gang had emerged. He maintained that the investigation had not established Indian government involvement.
“Any suggestion that a government is involved with criminal gangs is just preposterous,” he said.
Describing the deterioration in India-Canada relations as “a blip”, Patnaik argued that the two countries had no fundamental geopolitical differences and suggested that the diplomatic rupture stemmed from political decisions. He did not identify the politician he was referring to.
Patnaik also disputed interpretations of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks to The New York Times concerning the possibility of crimes being committed in Canada, saying Carney had stated that he could not guarantee that no crime would occur in the country.
Responding to Canada’s intelligence agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), listing India among the main sources of foreign interference in its 2025 public report, Patnaik denied that India engaged in such activities. He expressed hope that India would be removed from the list in the agency’s next report.
He also argued that Khalistan-related extremism was primarily a concern in Canada rather than India, while distinguishing peaceful political advocacy from criminal activities.
“What we say is don’t bring the negativity, the filth, the terrorist element, the gun running, the drug smuggling, the organised crime, extortion,” he said.
Patnaik urged Canadians not to equate pro-Khalistan extremists with the wider Sikh community. Citing a Diljit Dosanjh concert in Toronto attended by around 45,000 fans and a gathering of 15 protesters, he said the figures illustrated the distinction between the community and a small group of demonstrators.
He added that the Canadian government had taken substantial action over the past year against networks involved in extortion, drug smuggling and human trafficking.
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