Diplomatic tensions remain between India and Canada. Meanwhile, there are reports that officials of the Indian consulate in Canada are being kept under surveillance and their personal communications are also being intercepted.
The Canadian government has told officials at the Indian consulate in Vancouver that their audio and video surveillance is still being done and their private conversations are being intercepted, the Union government told Parliament.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha that it is important to respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty for sustainable bilateral relations. In fact, he was asked in the House whether Indian diplomats in Canada are being monitored through cyber surveillance or other means. Regarding this, he told the House in writing that yes, recently the Government of Canada had told the officials of the Indian Consulate in Vancouver that their audio and video surveillance was being done.
Let us tell you that last year Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of killing Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on November 2 that some Indian consular officials have been kept under surveillance.
Trudeau first accused India in Parliament last year Speaking in Parliament last year, Justin Trudeau held India responsible for the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Diplomatic tensions between India and Canada escalated after this. Since then, relations between India and Canada have been full of ups and downs. India also accused Trudeau and his party of playing vote bank politics to woo the Khalistanis.
In January this year, Canada's former National Security Adviser Jody Thomas said that India is cooperating with Canada in the investigation of Niger's murder.
Nijjar was killed last year Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurudwara in Surrey, Canada, in June last year. Nijjar was a Khalistani terrorist. He was the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force. He was living in Canada for a long time and was fueling Khalistani terrorism against India from there.
According to intelligence sources, Nijjar became an even bigger headache for Indian investigative agencies over the past one year as he started providing logistics and financing overseas to operatives of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
When Trudeau visited India in 2018. At that time, then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh handed over to him a list of Khalistan terrorists, which included Nijjar's name. The Union Home Ministry declared Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. An FIR was registered against him in 2010 in a bomb blast outside a temple in Patiala. He was wanted by the police in several cases including inciting violence and promoting terrorist activities.
India declared Hardeep Singh Nijjar as a designated terrorist. The NIA had also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh on him.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
