Key Points:
•The Kalistani Group threatened to’ siege’ the Indian Consulate in Vancouver.
•The ‘siege’ is set to begin at 8 a.m. on September 19, the group urged people to avoid visiting the consulate on September 19.
•The group shared a poster of Dinesh Patnaik photo with a target mark over his face, captioned “New face of India's Hindutva terror in Canada”.
In a public notice, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) , a khalisatani group, threatened to ‘siege’ the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, Canada. The group urged Indo-Canadians to avoid visiting the consulate on September 18 (the planned date of the ‘siege’).
While pointing to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of Indian agents’ involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, SFJ further accused Indian consulates of operating “spy networks” targeting Khalistani activists.
The Khalistani group declared a 12-hour siege of the consulate, set to begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday (September 19).
The notice said: "Indo-Canadians planning routine visits to the Vancouver Indian Consulate on 18 September are advised to refrain and choose another date. Pro-Khalistan Sikhs-the torchbearers of Shaheed Nijjar-will lay a historic "SIEGE" of the Consulate to demand accountability for Indian state-directed espionage and intimidation on Canadian soil,".
Alongside the notice, SFJ also shared a poster of India's High Commissioner designate Dinesh Patnaik, with a target mark over his face captioned “New face of India's Hindutva terror in Canada”.
Apart from announcing the siege, SFJ also claimed in its notice that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had offered “witness protection” to Inderjeet Gosal. Gosal, is a Khalistani leader who serves as an SFJ coordinator, who was arrested last year in connection with a violent attack on a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
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The siege threat comes over a year after India-Canada relations deteriorated sharply, following former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of Indian involvement in the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and subsequently recalled six of its diplomats, including the High Commissioner, while expelling the six Canadian envoys.
In a recent move to reset ties, both countries appointed new envoys. India named Dinesh K. Patnaik as its High Commissioner to Ottawa, while Canada designated Christopher Cooter as its representative in New Delhi. Patnaik, who was serving as India’s ambassador to Spain, has already arrived in Canada and is set to formally take charge in Ottawa soon.
(Rh/SG/NS)
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