NEW DELHI: Amid a high-voltage diplomatic row between India and Canada, officials in the intelligence agencies and security establishment have raised a question mark on the authorities of the North American country for not providing adequate security to Khalistani separatist Hardeep Nijjar.
Nijjar had held several rounds of meetings with Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) before his killing.
A senior intelligence official said that in the backdrop of facts available so far, it appears that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got carried away in his bid to gain political capital following the killing of the separatist leader ahead of elections in his country by naming India without any proof to substantiate his claims.
Noting that Nijjar was meeting officials of the CSIS regularly and the authorities of the agency, instead of providing him adequate security, had advised him to avoid going out in public and as much as possible change the timings of his visit to the Gurudwara, sources in the intelligence agencies said.
The intelligence sources also claimed that they have accessed the statement made by Nijjar’s son Balraj and his version substantiates “our assessment that Pakistan’s ISI could be behind the killing of the Khalistani leader”.
In his statement Balraj had claimed that his father met senior CSIS officials just six days before his killing and another meeting was scheduled two days after, they added.
“According to Balraj during those meetings, Canadian authorities told Nijjar that he shouldn’t go to his gurdwara at his usual times, and he should avoid being seen in public,” an intelligence source said.
Based on these revelations, the officials in Indian agencies wondered why Nijjar was not given adequate security and protection if the Canadian authorities had inputs about the threat to his life.
According to officials in the security establishment here the profile of Nijjar, who is a commando of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), which is a banned organisation in India, suits the Canadian PM in keeping the Khalistani pot boiling for Sikh support in the upcoming elections.