NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: India on Tuesday rubbished all allegations of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that New Delhi had hired the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to target Khalistani elements on its soil. Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said all options were on the table, including announcing sanctions.It’s the same old Trudeau saying the same old things for the same old reasons, official sources remarked. Both India and Canada expelled six diplomats each as part of their punitive action the previous day. But one person who might have found it difficult to conceal a chuckle was Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, who is in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail. By alleging that he was hired to harm the Khalistanis, Canada elevated him to the level of the once dreaded gangster Chhota Rajan, who was cultivated by India to neutralise Dawood Ibrahim some decades ago. Bishnoi’s name was recently linked to the supari murder of senior NCP leader Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai.“India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians on Canadian soil, whether it was the murders or extortion or other violent acts,’’ claimed Trudeau. Bilateral diplomatic ties dived following the gunning down of Khalistani radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year.Rebutting the charges, official sources said, “From the very beginning, the Canadian approach has been to make vague accusations and put the burden of denial on India.”
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