Canada has made fresh allegations against India, accusing New Delhi of collaborating with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to target Khalistani figures, further escalating the tension between two countries.
In a press conference on Thanksgiving Day in Ottawa, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gaubin alleged, “What we have seen is the use of organised crime elements, and it’s been publicly attributed to one organised crime gang in particular… the Bishnoi group is connected to the agents of India.”
When asked if RCMP was accusing the Indian government agents of “homicide, extortion, intimidation, and coercion,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said, “Yes.”
"Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community," the RCMP statement read.
WATCH: Canadian Police accuses India of using Lawrence Bishnoi gang to target pro-Khalistani elements
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
Bishnoi, 31 is a gangster from Punjab, and is currently lodged in the Sabarmati Central jail in Ahmedabad.
He is suspected by the Mumbai police to be behind the killing of Baba Siddiqui, a three-time MLA from Maharashtra on Saturday night.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of choosing to use its diplomats and organised crime to attack its citizens and make them feel unsafe on their soil, calling it a "monumental mistake" by New Delhi.
Trudeau spoke to reporters on Monday, hours after the head of the RCMP laid out stunning allegations accusing agents of the Indian government of playing a role in "widespread violence" in Canada, including homicides, and warned that it poses "a serious threat to our public safety," the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
India has been strongly rejecting Canada's charge of involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's killing last year.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
