Canadian police frees Khalistani ‘separatist’ after 24 hrs in custody

TORONTO: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, accused of being a Khalistani terrorist by the Indian government, was briefly taken into custody by Canadian law enforcement in mid-april but was released within 24 hours, without any charges being filed.

Days later, Nijjar, who has been accused in India of being responsible for multiple targeted killings, was front-and-centre at Vaisakhi celebrations in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver in British Columbia. According to sources, Nijjar was detained by the Surrey unit of the Royal Canadian Mounter Police (RCMP) in the afternoon of April 13. He was released the next day and no charges have been filed against him so far. An RCMP spokesperson did not comment on the matter, saying the organisation doesn’t speak about ongoing investigations or cases where no charges had been registered.

Nijjar is being represented by Sikhs For Justice’s legal advisor Gurpatwant Pannun in his personal capacity, and also by Vancouver-based law firm Peck and Company. The founder of the legal firm, Richard Peck, had also represented one of the accused in the bombing of Air India flight 182, Ajaib Singh Bagri.

Nijjar’s name was in the list of wanted persons handed over to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau by Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, when the two meet in Amritsar in February. It doesn’t appear that any other person from the list has been detained or questioned by Canadian authorities as yet. In a statement emailed to HT, Nijjar said, “I am being targeted and framed in false criminal cases by Indian authorities for my relentless campaign against the genocidal violence against the Sikhs and continuous support for Referendum 2020 to liberate Punjab and create separate Sikh country Khalistan.”

Pannun, who is representing Nijjar with regard to possible action based on a Red Corner Notice from Interpol, said, “He was never charged with any crime, and released unconditionally, at least as of right now.”