Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18 by unidentified assailants in the parking lot of a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey, was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Punjab Police in multiple cases.
Nijjar also had close links with the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Originally from Bharsinghpura village in Punjab’s Jalandhar, he entered Canada with a forged passport in 1997.
Nijjar soon married a woman from British Columbia and had been living there with her and two sons. He worked there as a plumber and was elected unopposed as the head of the Surrey gurdwara managing committee head. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in March 2016.
Nijjar’s name had figured in the list of nine wanted persons handed over by the then Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the latter’s visit to the State in February 2018.
In July 2020, based on the findings of probe agencies, a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs designated Nijjar as an individual terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In the notification, the government noted that Nijjar had been posting photos and videos on social media platforms to spread “insurrectionary imputations and hateful speeches”. He also allegedly made attempts to create disharmony among different communities in India.
In 2022, the NIA declared a reward of ₹10 lakh for information leading to the KTF chief’s arrest in the cases registered by the agency in 2018, 2019 and 2021. It has arrested some of his associates and filed charge-sheets naming him. In one case, he was accused of being part of a conspiracy involving SFJ and other related outfits to initiate a concerted campaign in the name of “Punjab Referendum 2020 for Khalistan”.
According to the NIA, he had allegedly been raising funds to procure arms and ammunition, and train youth for terrorist activities in the country. “He has certain associates in India who have conducted reconnaissance of gatherings of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at certain places, including Punjab, with an intention to target them...,” the agency alleged in another case. Nijjar has also been accused of masterminding attacks on Hindu priests in Phillaur.
