‘Intercepted communications link Amit Shah to attacks on Sikh activists in Canada’
Washington: In a significant development, Canadian officials have informed the Indian government that intercepted communications among expelled Indian diplomats include references to Home Minister Amit Shah and a senior official from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
According to Kashmir Media Service, these conversations indicate that Amit Shah and the senior RAW official authorized intelligence-gathering missions and operations targeting Sikh activists in Canada, as reported by the Washington Post.
This revelation emerged during a previously undisclosed meeting in Singapore on October 12 between Canadian security and foreign ministry officials and India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval. An earlier version of the Washington Post report did not name the minister and spoke only of the involvement of a “senior official in India”. But in a subsequent update, the newspaper identified Shah as the official concerned based on more detailed inputs from its sources.
While the specifics of these references remain unclear, Canadian investigators reportedly sought to question the Indian diplomats to obtain more details regarding the alleged involvement of these officials in overseas operations. India, however, rejected Canada’s request to lift the diplomatic immunity of its diplomats, leading to the expulsion of six diplomats, including the Indian High Commissioner.
This incident is not the first time Amit Shah has faced accusations of involvement in extra-judicial violence. A decade ago, the Central Bureau of Investigation had charged him – as home minister of Gujarat – with being part of the conspiracy to kill Sohrabudddin and others in fake police encounters. He was eventually discharged by the trial court soon after Modi became prime minister and the CBI chose not too appeal.
On its part, the Canadian side seems even more sure of its case than ever before with Trudeau now speaking of “clear and compelling evidence” in the possession of the police “that agents of the Government of India have engaged in and continue to engage in activities that pose a significant threat to public safety, including clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder.” This marks a notable escalation from Trudeau’s earlier comments in September 2023, when he cited “credible intelligence” regarding Indian involvement in the murder of Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
