India claims that Canada done little to stop the group it associates with New Delhi

The foreign ministry of India said Thursday that relations have deteriorated because, in spite of New Delhi’s demands, Canada has not taken any action against members of a group that Canadian police have accused of being connected to Indian government operatives in the 2023 murder of a Sikh separatist leader.

“This is a contradiction in terms, which we don’t understand,” India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described as “strange.”

According to him, 26 Indians, including members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, have had extradition requests pending with Canada for the past ten years or more.

Indian government agents were charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of being connected to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar close to Vancouver. The case is significant to India and Canada’s deteriorating diplomatic relations.

Due to Ottawa’s claims that New Delhi was targeting Indian dissidents on Canadian grounds, both nations expelled six diplomats from one other earlier this week in tit-for-tat actions.

India made a “horrific mistake” by believing it could meddle forcefully in Canada’s safety and sovereignty, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

In response, India claimed that Trudeau had just reaffirmed its position that Canada had not shown any proof to back up its claims.

Jaiswal stated Thursday at a weekly press conference, “We have shared security related information with the Canadian government regarding gang members, including those of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and requested them to arrest them or take due action as per law.”

He described the situation as “very serious” and claimed that Canada has not taken any action.

He stated that the RCMP was accusing India of being responsible for the crimes perpetrated by those “who we asked to be deported, on whom we asked that action be taken.” “We find it really strange,” he added.

Bishnoi, 31, is the head of a “terror-crime syndicate” that works out of various Indian prisons, according to India’s top investigative agency.

India’s National Investigation Agency claims that the gang has a foothold in Canada and other countries.

India has refuted all of the Canadian accusations, but it is cooperating with the United States, which also revealed last year that an Indian diplomat was part of a failed attempt to kill another Sikh separatist leader in New York.

An officer listed in the U.S. indictment regarding the case was no longer working for the Indian government, Jaiswal revealed on Thursday.

The State Department said Wednesday that Washington was pleased with India’s cooperation in the investigation into the thwarted murder attempt, following a meeting with members of the Indian government committee looking into the issue who were visiting the United States.