NEW DELHI: Canada has consistently been refusing to entertain the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) request for the death certificate of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, officials said on Saturday.
They said that despite informing authorities in Ottawa that the NIA required the death certificate to fulfil the legal requirement of updating Indian Court in connection with a case involving Nijjar, they continued to insist on providing "some other specific” reason for the request.
The Canadian government had confirmed the death of Nijjar, while announcing in June last year that he was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey.
Nijjar, who held Canadian citizenship, was declared “a designated a terrorist” under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2020.
The ties between India and Canada soured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible information” of India’s hand in the killing of Nijjar.
India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.
Afterwards, Canadian PM Trudeau admitted that his government had not provided India with hard evidence but just intelligence regarding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is currently investigating six cases involving designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who holds American and Canadian citizenship.
In its investigation against Pannu, the agency has so far attached three properties owned by Pannu in Chandigarh. Additionally, several land parcels in Amritsar linked to him have also been seized.