National

India needs to take this seriously: Trudeau on US charge

Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Nov, 2023 01:23 PM

New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) Hours after the US charged an Indian national with conspiracy to assassinate a New York-based Sikh separatist, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that New Delhi needs to take the charge "seriously" and cooperate in the investigations.

Trudeau, who had been claiming since September that Indian agents were involved in the killing of its citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, told CBC News that they have been working closely with their American counterparts on the "serious" allegations.

"The news coming out of the US further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning, which is... India needs to take this seriously," Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday.

"The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we're getting to the bottom of this. This is not something that anyone can take lightly," he added.

The Prime Minister further said that his responsibility is to keep "Canadians safe, and that's what we're going to continue to do".

The US prosecutors on Wednesday announced murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta for involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen allegedly on behalf of an Indian government employee.

Neither the "government employee", nor Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, were named in the document.

Pannun was only identified as a "US citizen"

The indictment alleged that the Indian government employee recruited Gupta in or around May 2023 to assassinate Pannun -- a designated terrorist in India.

Gupta, in turn, got in touch with a man he believed to be a "criminal associate" but was actually a confidential source of the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

India has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to look into the security concerns raised by the US government.

As for Canada, High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma said this month that neither Ottawa nor its allies have shown "concrete evidence" backing Trudeau's allegations.

In an interview with a Canadian journalist last week, Verma reiterated that India is only asking for specific and relevant information "so that we can help the Canadian investigators to reach their conclusion".

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada gains on U.S. in permanent resident race

It's a record that will likely be beaten more than once in the coming years, as a Canadian federal immigration plan released earlier this month aims to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023 and 500,000 a year by 2025, with a particular focus on bringing in people with needed skills and experience.

Canada gains on U.S. in permanent resident race

How $10-a-day child care is rolling out in Canada

British Columbia was the first to sign on, inking a $3.2-billion deal in July 2021 with plans to create 30,000 new child-care spaces within five years and 40,000 within seven years. B.C. started a $10-a-day program at select facilities in 2018 and plans to double those spaces to 12,500 this month.

How $10-a-day child care is rolling out in Canada

B.C. public school teachers ratify new contract

It boosts annual salaries for new teachers as much as $8,500 by the end of the third year while B.C.'s highest-paid educators will earn up to $13,500 more over the same period, which Johnston says pushes them above the $100,000-per-year threshold for the first time.

B.C. public school teachers ratify new contract

Arctic cold descends on parts of B.C.

Arctic outflow warnings have been posted for B.C.’s central and northern coasts, with the wind chill predicted at minus 20. Special weather statements are also up for most of Vancouver Island and the south coast, with icy conditions and wind chills near minus 10.

Arctic cold descends on parts of B.C.

Street drugs kill another 179 people in B.C.

The coroner says the October statistics show that illicit drugs caused the deaths of 1,827 people in B.C. in the first 10 months of this year. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the increased toxicity and variability of street drugs has created an environment where everyone who uses substances is at risk.

Street drugs kill another 179 people in B.C.

Metro Vancouver storm creates traffic chaos

Several crashes blocked the Alex Fraser Bridge, one of the main arteries over the Fraser River. The route was closed for hours in both directions over safety concerns, the government said.