Canada suddenly dropped the name of gangster Goldy Brar, who operates in the north American nation, from its wanted list of criminals, India’s recalled envoy Sanjay Verma has said.
In an interview with PTI Videos, Verma said India had shared the names of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Brar with Canadian authorities who had put the latter on the wanted list.
The senior diplomat also said the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was “wrong” and the truth must come out after a thorough investigation.
“Nijjar was a terrorist to us, but anything that is extrajudicial, for any democracy, rule of law country, is wrong,” Verma said.
“We always told them that we want to reach to the bottom of the whole episode, so that you are satisfied, we are satisfied,” the diplomat said.
He said Brar operated one gang in Canada but there are multiple similar groups in that country which are not-so trans-national, but have a pan-Canada character.
“Goldy Brar was living in Canada. On our request, he was put on the wanted list. All of a sudden, he disappeared from the wanted list. What do I make out of it? Either he is arrested or he is no more wanted,” Verma said.
“So, when the turf war starts on drug trafficking or human trafficking and gunrunning, we have seen in various parts of the world that there are murders and killings,” he said.
Brar was believed to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and came into focus after he claimed responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022. However, reports suggest that both were running separate gangs now.
EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: Here's what Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma told @PTI_News when asked about 'concerned' parents who send their wards to Canada for higher education.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 24, 2024
"I would like to digress a bit and say, our, our children getting there what they had dreamt of. If I can… pic.twitter.com/cexvA0kMem
Verma said India had shared the names of Brar and Bishnoi with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
“So, it is not that Canada or Canadians authorities woke up from their dreams and said, here is a Lawrence Bishnoi and here is a Goldy Brar, it was an Indian agency which told them about these two gangsters,” the diplomat said.
Trudeau supporting Khalistani elements
Meanwhile, in a direct attack on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support to Khalistani elements, Verma said not acting against the separatist criminals is akin to encouraging them.
Days after returning to New Delhi after an acrimonious blow-up in relations between the two countries, Verma told PTI Videos that Trudeau has been emboldening Khalistanis for political gains.
Verma was asked if India has shared evidence with Canada that Trudeau and his government have been promoting Khalistani terrorism.
“Encouragement could be both ways, one is actively telling them to do something, and second is you will keep mum. So, the criminals, terrorists, extremists, if one takes no action against them, that is akin to encouragement,” he said.
“So, that encouragement is seen a lot there, either it is for domestic vote-bank or any other political reason. Because of this encouragement, they (Khalistanis) have gotten emboldened and they continuously attack the interests of India, and try to harm us,” the diplomat added.
On whether Trudeau’s actions against India were driven by his intention to divert attention in the face of his falling popularity ahead of elections in Canada next year, Verma said, “I will not get into the domestic policy of Canada. That’s not my job. I shouldn’t be doing that. The surveys that I have seen, published in the (Canadian) media, say that popularity rating of Mr Trudeau is going down.”
“It (Trudeau’s rating) is much below the main opposition party at the moment, and its leader. So, many of the media reports say and it’s not my opinion, that if elections are held today, he may find it very difficult to come back to power,” Verma said.
“But these are just surveys, and we know opinion polls hold good at times, while not so good at other times. So, what happens to Canada will be decided by Canadians during the elections, I will not like to go there, not like to comment,” he added.
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Verma said his analysis is that most of the anti-India activities out of Canada are only for domestic political gains.
He said there is a specific campaign by Khalistanis to defame India.
“But, I won’t blame entire Canada for that. Canadians are good friends, they are objective people, very polite, very welcoming. So, Canada as a country is a beautiful place to be, but I will not be able to say the same for the Khalistani terrorists and extremists in Canada and their political backers,” Verma said.
In an unexpected downturn of relations, Verma was declared a “person of interest” by Canada on October 13 in its investigation into the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who has been declared a Khalistani terrorist by India. Before Canada could take further action, New Delhi recalled Verma and five other diplomats, who were also similarly named.
Verma, an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and a nuclear scientist, has previously served as India’s ambassador to Japan and Sudan.
