RCMP monitors threats against Indian diplomats ‘very closely’
Federal police say they are closely monitoring the situation regarding a planned rally on July 8 to protest the killing of a Sikh community leader in British Columbia.
“The RCMP is closely monitoring this matter,” spokesman Robin Percival said in an emailed statement.
“We are constantly adapting our protective posture to the current threat environment to ensure an adequate level of protection when needed.”
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC, was shot on June 18 by unknown assailants.
Some supporters of Mr Nijjar, who was wanted on charges of terrorism in India, suspect the Indian government is behind the targeted killing.
Mr Nijjar had denied the terrorism allegations and the Indian High Commission has not returned a request for comment on the matter.
Police investigators have yet to make any arrests and have not attributed a motive for the murder.
A poster for the July 8 event circulating online says “Kill India”, and has described the photos and names of two senior Indian diplomats in Canada as the “faces” of Mr Nijjar’s “killers”.
While advising close monitoring of the situation, the RCMP said it would not release any information it has about the threat and risk associated with the planned event or what specific measures it is taking to protect diplomatic personnel and premises. which is part of his mandate.
The poster for the July protest march calls for a “Khalistan Freedom Rally” in Toronto, with the procession starting at a business center and ending at the “Indian Embassy”.
The RCMP says it is working closely with the Toronto Police Service and other forces to “fulfill our mandate with respect to the protection of designated persons and provide support to the police as necessary.”
Previous protests
Previous protests involving Sikhs in San Francisco and London, England resulted in vandalism against Indian diplomatic missions in March. reported CBS news. Sikh separatists oppose the Indian government and strive for an independent Khalistan in northwestern India.
More recently, on July 2, a fire was set in conjunction with Reuters outside the San Francisco Consulate report Sikh separatists were involved.
The US State Department condemned the vandalism, calling it a “criminal offense”, but did not identify any responsible group.
“The US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson attack against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday,” spokesman Matthew Miller wrote. Twitter 3 July.
Regarding the planned protest in Canada, Indian media has reported that New Delhi has lodged a protest with Ottawa over the matter. Global Affairs Canada and the Secretary of State’s communications director have yet to confirm the matter with The Epoch Times despite separate investigations.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said on July 3 that Canada remains in close contact with Indian officials about the planned protest.
The Indian government has recently publicly criticized the Canadian government’s lax approach to Sikh extremism.
“There’s a bigger underlying problem about the space given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence,” said Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in early June.
“We don’t understand why anyone would do this, aside from the requirements of politics to buy votes.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected suggestions that his administration is not tackling the issue for political purposes during a visit to Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, on July 5.
“We have always been serious about terrorism and we always will,” he said. “We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something we have, but we will always make sure we reduce violence and extremism in all its forms.”
The Canadian Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
