Sikh group vows Indian consulate ‘shutdown’ over link to high-profile B.C. gurdwara murder

globalnews.ca:

with new intelligence appearing to link the Indian state to a high-profile murder in British Columbia.Hardeep Singh Nijjar, president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, was gunned down in the Surrey temple’s parking lot after evening prayers on June 18.

Nijjar, 45, was a prominent community leader and supporter of Sikh separatism.On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed national security authorities had obtained “credible” intelligence “agents of the government of India” were behind the grisly killing — something the World Sikh Organization of Canada and others had suggested shortly after Nijjar’s death.India’s Ministry of External Affairs has vehemently denied the claims, calling them “absurd and motivated” in a statement early on Tuesday.Protests, however, are slated to take place outside Indian consulates in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver next Monday, according to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal counsel for Sikhs for Justice.“We will not allow the Indian consulates to function and we’re going to push the Canadian government to name the individuals who are responsible for assassinating and giving the orders to hit Nijjar,” he told Global News.“He has been assassinated outside the gurdwara — that was being done to give a very strong message to pro-Khalistan Sikhs that they will be hunted, even in the Western world.”In its statement, India said it rejects “any attempts to connect Government of India to such developments,” calling itself “a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”“We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil,” wrote its Ministry of External Affairs.Sikhs For Justice organizes referendum votes on