CHANDIGARH: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Wednesday said there is "no evidence to suggest" that Indian officials were linked in any way to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, nearly three years after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said security agencies were investigating allegations of a "potential link" between Indian agents and the murder.
The statement came hours after US authorities announced what they described as the "largest-ever" action against India-based transnational organised crime networks under the FBI-led 'Operation Hard Ball', charging gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, with ordering Nijjar's assassination in Canada in June 2023.
While Bishnoi has been in jail in India since 2015, the FBI announced a reward of $50,000 for information leading to Brar's arrest.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Moreland told Canadian public broadcaster CBC News that there was no evidence to suggest that, through this organised crime syndicate investigation and the charges laid, Indian government officials would be charged or implicated.
"Nothing has come out to link the Indian government," she said.
Moreland said the Indian government had cooperated with the investigation. She added that the investigation was continuing based on the arrests and seizures made during Operation Hard Ball.
In her remarks, Moreland said the investigation had found that the Bishnoi gang had been involved in extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and violence in Canada and elsewhere. This marks a significant shift from the Trudeau government's earlier public stance, which triggered a major diplomatic rift between New Delhi and Ottawa.
Weeks after Nijjar's killing outside a gurdwara in British Columbia, Trudeau alleged in the House of Commons that the Indian government was linked to the Sikh separatist's murder, triggering a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties. India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated".
Nijjar was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was designated a terrorist by India.
In October 2024, New Delhi recalled its high commissioner and five other diplomats after Ottawa attempted to link them to the Nijjar case, and expelled an equal number of Canadian diplomats.
However, ties have improved since Mark Carney succeeded Trudeau as prime minister. Subsequently, both countries appointed high commissioners to each other's capitals. They also agreed to revive several mechanisms to advance bilateral relations across a range of areas.
In September last year, Canada's National Security and Intelligence Advisor visited India, while NSA Ajit Doval visited Ottawa in February this year to strengthen the ongoing security and law enforcement dialogue between the two countries. Similarly, relations have seen a significant improvement since PM Carney's visit to India in June.
Under a coordinated hunt named 'Operation Hardball', the law enforcement agencies of the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 people for their alleged links to three India-based organised crime groups, including the Bishnoi gang.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the agencies disrupted the operations of "organised criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States."
"We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done; we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, in the United States, and around the world," Duheme said.