Explained | India’s dossier details Nijjar’s history of travel, terror and thuggery
Published: Sep 22, 2023, 21:45 IST | Updated: Sep 22, 2023, 21:45 IST
Detailed timeline of Hardeep Singh Nijjar's past
Amid rising tensions with Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Indian authorities have prepared a detailed dossier encompassing his links to militant organisations and involvement in criminal activities in India and Canada.
The dossier also revealed that Nijjar fled to Canada and gained citizenship based on a forged passport. Following that, he started running a terror ecosystem on Canadian soil, while being in close touch with other terrorists based out of Pakistan.
According to the dossier prepared by Indian agencies, Nijjar was a close associate of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) militant Gurdeep Singh, who was “involved in more than 200 killings in Punjab during late 1980s and early 1990s.”
“Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a resident of village Bhar Singh Pura, Jalandhar, Punjab. Since his early days, he had connections with local goons. He was initiated to gangster life by Gurnek Singh Neka," the dossier says.
In 1996, when police in India started probing his links with Khalistani militant outfits and his involvement in criminal activities, he fled to Canada on a forged passport.
He used the fake passport under the alias Ravi Sharma, and applied for asylum in Canada by claiming that he feared persecution in India because of his ‘alleged’ links to Sikh militancy.
In 1997, Nijjar’s asylum plea was rejected by Canadian authorities as they found it fabricated.
Just days after his plea was rejected, he entered into a marriage agreement with a lady, who reportedly sponsored his immigration.
But the application was rejected again as the lady had also arrived in Canada the same year (1997), whose application was sponsored by a different husband.
“Nijjar was later granted Canadian citizenship the circumstances of which are not clear," Indian agencies have said.
Initially, he earned his living as a truck driver in Canada but in 2012, Nijjar visited Pakistan and met Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Jagtar Singh Tara. BKI is a designated terrorist organisation in India and is believed to have close ties with Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
Jagtar Singh Tara reportedly imparted arms and IED training to Nijjar in Pakistan.
In 2013, Tara sent US-based Harjot Singh Birring to Canada to impart training to Nijjar in operating hand-held GPS devices. In return, Nijjar sent one million Pakistani rupees to Tara.
In 2014, Nijjar planned a terror attack on Dera Sacha Sauda Headquarters in the northern Indian state of Haryana. The plan was foiled as India denied entry to Nijjar.
"This is our legacy!" A reminder of who cheered for extrajudicial executions, like that of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Does NOT mean Nijjar should have been murdered himself - but he also applauded the suicide bomber who killed a Chief Minister of Punjab (and 16 bystanders.) https://t.co/j9XeOVGvDh
In November 2014, Interpol published a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Nijjar for masterminding more than a dozen cases of murder and terror.
“The details of cases were shared with Canadian authorities but no action was taken. Also, despite RCN, Canadian authorities did not take any action except putting him on a no-fly list," the dossier says.
Inaction from the Canadian authorities further encouraged Nijjar’s terror activities in India.
In 2014, Nijjar directed his module to target former top police official in Punjab Mohd Izhar Alam, and Punjab-based political leaders Nishant Sharma and Baba Mann Singh Ji Pehowa Wale.
Watch: Is Canada spying on Indian diplomats? Canada-India Khalistan row
In 2015, Nijjar and Tara planned a terror attack in Punjab and raised a gang in Canada which included Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal, Sarbjit Singh, Anupveer Singh and Darshan Singh Fauji. They were imparted arms training in British Columbia, Canada in December 2015," the Indian agency said.
The same year, Tara was deported to India, and Nijjar assumed the role of the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).
In April 2021, Nijjar again visited Pakistan as a part of “Baisakhi jatha" but used the visit to get training in arms and explosives for a fortnight.
“After returning to Canada, he started arranging funds for terror activities through his associates engaged in drugs and arms smuggling in Canada. Nijjar was also associated with Sikhs For Justice, a banned terrorist organisation, as the head of its Canada chapter,” the dossier says.
“He had also organised violent anti-India protests in Canada and threatened Indian diplomats. He had also given a call to ban Indian embassy officials from participating in various programmes organised by local gurdwaras in Canada," it adds.
The dossier also links Nijjar to the double murder of Manohar Lal Arora and Jatinderbir Singh Arora, a father-son duo, famous for their anti-Panthic activities in 2020.
“In the attack, Manohar Lal was shot dead at his residence in Bathinda on Nov 20, 2020 but his son escaped. Nijjar had sent money from Canada for their murder," says the dossier.
In 2021, Nijjar also tried to get a priest killed at his native village in Punjab, “but the priest survived," according to the dossier.
Indian officials also say that in a bid to escape the Red Corner Notice, Nijjar got involved in Gurudwara politics in Canada. In 2021, he became the president of Surrey Gurdwara by ousting his cousin Raghbir Singh Nijjar.
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