Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: In a new development in the investigation into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, former Canadian National Security Adviser (NSA) Jody Thomas has testified that the initial police and intelligence investigation pointed to Nijjar’s assassination as retaliation for the killing of Ripudaman Singh Malik. Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing case, was murdered in 2022 in Surrey, British Columbia.
Thomas, speaking at Canada’s foreign interference inquiry, explained that initial probes suggested a tit-for-tat attack, but the narrative shifted after pressure from the Sikh community and further investigation. She testified that intelligence later indicated Nijjar’s assassination might have been an extra-judicial killing.
“It [Nijjar’s killing] was the second high-profile murder in the same gurdwara,” Thomas noted, adding that community members were concerned with the retaliation hypothesis, pushing the investigation towards other motives.
Nijjar, who led the Khalistan Tiger Force, had publicly denounced Malik, calling him a traitor and advocating for his social boycott prior to his death. Malik’s assassination was initially thought to be linked to these accusations. However, new intelligence changed the course of the investigation.
This shift in Canada’s investigation comes amid escalating tensions between India and Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of violating Canada’s sovereignty, a claim India has rejected as baseless. Trudeau’s accusations in the Canadian parliament that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s death sparked a diplomatic row, with both countries expelling diplomats.
Indian intelligence sources also linked Malik’s death to pro-separatist forces, possibly backed by Pakistan’s ISI, with suspicion surrounding Nijjar’s role. The tension has persisted with Canada naming India’s envoy to Ottawa as a “person of interest” in the investigation into Nijjar’s killing, a move that has widened the diplomatic rift between the two nations.
