No one really knows what struck Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun—both born in Punjab—to become “wanted” in India. Nijjar is no more; he was shot dead in June last year at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Punjabi-dominated Surrey of British Columbia province in Canada. Pannun runs the Sikhs for Justice (SJF) outfit, is based in the US and possesses American and Canadian citizenship. The worst part about them is that they are the agent provocateurs in bringing Indo-Canadian relations to a nadir.So much so that in September last year Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first publicly alleged India’s role in Nijjar’s killing, which New Delhi vehemently rejected. Trudeau runs a minority government with issue-based support from the pro-Khalistani New Democratic Party. Trudeau virtually indicted the Indian government in Canadian Parliament for Nijjar’s murder on September 18, 2023. In June this year, Canada’s House of Commons observed a ‘moment of silence’ for him. To date, the Canadian government has not produced a shred of evidence to substantiate its allegations, despite India’s repeated demands for proof. What was Nijjar doing back home before he converted into a Canadian citizen, and what did he have in common with Pannun before meeting his end?Nijjar was an Indian-origin Khalistani separatist who was declared a “wanted terrorist” by the Indian government due to his involvement in various acts of violence and subversive activities. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared him “wanted” in at least four cases, including a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Punjab’s Phillaur in 2021. He figures in the list of individual terrorists in Schedule 4 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The NIA had also declared Rs 10 lakh cash reward on him in July last year.India seeks Nijjar’s death certificate amid Canada’s allegations of killingOriginally from Bhar Singhpura village in Phillaur area of Jalandhar district, Nijjar was off to Canada—it is not clear whether he possessed valid papers—in 1997. He started working as a plumber, thousands of miles away from his house and land in the village. Last year, the NIA issued a notice seizing his property. His uncle, Himmat Singh, lives in the village though. Nijjar’s family had migrated with him, but his parents had been frequent visitors to the village till 2022.The judicial proceedings started against four men arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for Nijjar’s murder have not made any substantive progress. The case has been adjourned five times since May this year. The next hearing is due on November 21.Over to Pannun. After Nijjar rose to the top ranks of Khalistani terrorists, Pannun appointed him his separatist outfit SFJ’s representative in Canada, tasking him to promote the ‘Referendum-2020 campaign’—a separatist agenda.Pannun is believed to be the brainchild of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI. He originally belongs to Khankot village on the outskirts of Amritsar and got his law degree from Punjab University. He founded SFJ in 2007 and has vowed to “avenge the death” of Nijjar.Ukraine fallout: Russia expels several American diplomats, declares them ‘persona non grata’On July 10, 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs banned SFJ under the UAPA. Pannun has been under the NIA scanner since 2019, when the anti-terror agency registered its first case against him. In September 2023, the NIA confiscated his house and land in Amritsar and Chandigarh following non-bailable arrest warrants against Pannun by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021. He was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender’ on November 29, 2022.Pannun first made the headlines in August 2018 when the SFJ organised a large rally of pro-Khalistanis at Trafalgar Square in London. Pannun has neither any influence in Punjab nor among Khalistani hardliners outside the state.Pannun is known to put out incendiary speeches and threats against Indian leaders and institutions. The SFJ has filed cases against former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, besides others.Remaining Indian diplomats ‘clearly on notice,’ says Canadian foreign minister; compares India to Russia
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