An associate of slain B.C. Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar said police have alerted him of an "imminent" threat to his life.
Narinder Singh Randhawa said in a sworn statement sent to The Canadian Press that he was first contacted by Surrey Police last Saturday, with an officer issuing the "duty to warn" notice over the phone.
The Surrey, B.C., resident has been an organizer of rallies for the pro-Khalistan movement — which seeks the formation of an independent Sikh state within India — since at least 2023.
Nijjar, a leader in the pro-Khalistan movement, was gunned down in Surrey outside his Sikh gurdwara that year, in a case Canadian authorities have linked to Indian agents, which India denies.
Surrey Police said in an email they could not confirm issuing a "duty to warn" notice, even if the potential target disclosed the information publicly.
In his statement, Randhawa said he received two calls from Surrey police, including one where an officer told him his "activism and participation in protests" could be the reason for the unspecified threat to his life.
Randhawa said he believed his role in the rallies, including several outside the Indian consulate office in Vancouver, played a role in the threats.
"Let it be clear — threats to my life will not stop me," he said in a text message. "I will continue the campaign, stronger and louder."
Randhawa's statement said police called him on Saturday afternoon to tell him to meet officers in person and they would issue him the "duty to warn."
He said that when he told them he would be able to see them at 8 p.m., he was told "the threat to my life was imminent, police could not wait till the evening," so the notice was issued verbally over the phone.
He said that in a second call on Monday, police did not provide specifics of the threats against him or who made them, only that there was "information regarding the threat from multiple law enforcement agencies, including RCMP."
The RCMP said in a statement that they also do not confirm whether someone may be subject to a duty to warn.
"Generally speaking, every threat is assessed for risk and police have a duty to warn anyone who may be subject of a credible and imminent risk to their life," Sgt. Tammy Lobb, a federal policing public information officer with the pacific region, said.
Nijjar's killing triggered a diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons that there was credible intelligence linking India's government to the June 18 shooting death.
Relations have improved under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earlier this year refused to say whether he believes India is still behind acts of foreign interference and transnational repression in Canada.
Carney visited India from late February to early March.
Picture Courtesy: Darryl Greer
