Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Hardeep Singh Nijjar (11 October 197718 June 2023) was a Canadian Sikh involved with the Khalistan movement. He was a prominent member of the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and spearheaded the group's Khalistan Referendum campaign.

Born in India, Nijjar emigrated to Canada in the mid-1990s. Nijjar and his supporters rejected these allegations, saying he advocated peaceful means for creation of Khalistan. Nijjar gained prominence in 2019, when he became the leader of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, and became an advocate of Sikh separatism.

On 18 June 2023, Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. On 18 September 2023, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canadian intelligence agencies were "pursuing credible allegations of a potential link" between Indian government agents and the assassination of Nijjar. The Canadian investigations are ongoing, including into possible connections between the killing and the Indian government. India responded by calling the claims "preposterous" and expelling six Canadian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.

On July 8, 2026, the US charged Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates with the killing of Nijjar. The indictment does not allege any Indian government role in the killing. The US is seeking extradition of Bishnoi, who is in prison in India.

Early life and immigration to Canada Hardeep Singh Nijjar was born on October 11, 1977, in Bhar Singh Pura, a village in the Phillaur tehsil of the Jalandhar district, of Punjab, India. Nijjar's family had often provided refuge to Sikh militants in the midst of the Punjab insurgency, Nijjar claimed that he was inspired to join the Sikh militant movement by Anokh Singh Babbar, a founding member of the Babbar Khalsa, and a frequent visitor to the Nijjar farm. He migrated to Canada in the mid-1990s. According to The Globe and Mail, Nijjar told his friends that he was apprehended by the police because of his association with the architects of the 1995 assassination of Indian Punjab's chief minister, Beant Singh; a claim he withheld from Canadian immigration authorities.

Involvement with Sikh organisations In Canada, Nijjar operated a plumbing business and was married with two sons. He lived in Surrey, British Columbia, where he was a leader of the local Sikh community. He became the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, a Sikh temple in Surrey, in 2019. The New York Times described the congregation as "the oldest, largest and most politically powerful of the dozen or so Sikh temples in Surrey." Nijjar was re-affirmed as president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in 2022.

Nijjar was a leader of the Canadian branch of Sikhs for Justice. In 2012, he circulated petitions collecting signatures, calling on the United Nations to recognize anti-Sikh violence in India in 1984 as a genocide. The Khalistan movement is banned in India, but has support within the Sikh diaspora. After his death, the World Sikh Organization of Canada said that Nijjar "often led peaceful protests against the violation of human rights actively taking place in India and in support of Khalistan."

Nijjar had a dispute with Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Canadian Sikh who had been acquitted over involvement in the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182. Malik and a partner purchased a commercial printing press to use to print Sikh religious scripture, but later sued Nijjar in a civil lawsuit in British Columbia, alleging that Nijjar had failed to return the press that Malik had given him for safekeeping. several Indian news reports, quoting Indian intelligence officials, speculated that Nijjar was somehow linked to Malik's death. Nijjar was also associated with Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and spearheaded the group's Khalistan Referendum 2020 campaign. In Pakistan, he was photographed brandishing an AK-47 and on a gurdwara rooftop with Tara. Nijjar said that this claim was "absolutely preposterous" and "more like a bad Bollywood movie plot." and claimed that Nijjar was running a Sikh terrorist training camp near Mission, British Columbia. For an undisclosed period of time, Nijjar was on the Interpol watch list, in 2016, his name was removed from the list with the assistance of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. In a statement, Nijjar said: "I am being targeted and framed in false criminal cases by Indian authorities for my relentless campaign against the genocidal violence against the Sikhs and continuous support for Referendum 2020 to liberate Punjab and create separate Sikh country Khalistan." The report also noted, that much of Indian allegations against Nijjar are based on anonymous confessions or sworn statements from people in Indian custody; groups such as the World Sikh Organization believe they were obtained through torture and thus unreliable. The confessions allege that Nijjar was directing violent acts in Punjab targeting non Sikhs and wealthy businessmen. and says Nijjar maintained a close relationship to Jagtar Singh Tara, a conspirator in the assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, and head of various Sikh militant groups, including the KCF and the KTF. CSIS officers warned Nijjar of threats to his life and advised him to stay at home. He walked out of the gurdwara that evening and was gunned down approximately two minutes later, Police received a report of a shooting at the gurdwara at 8:27 p.m.

In May 2024, the RCMP arrested three people—Karan Brar, age 22, Kamal Preet Singh, age 22, and Karan Preet Singh, age 28—in connection with Nijjar's slaying. All three were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said: "There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today, and these efforts include investigating connections to the Government of India." Both are prominent members of the Bishnoi Gang, which has been designated a terrorist entity by Canada since 2025. The FBI also put a $50,000 bounty on Brar for his arrest. The charges were announced by first assistant attorney for California Bill Essayli.

According to the unsealed indictment Bishnoi used smuggled cell phones from prison to direct four individuals to carry out the killing, providing one of them with Nijjar's photograph and home and work addresses. Two masked assailants shot Nijjar as he was leaving the parking lot of his temple. The four individuals named in the indictment were not publicly identified. The U.S. Department of Justice stated it intended to seek Bishnoi's extradition from India.

Allegation of Indian responsibility In September 2023, during the G20 New Delhi summit, Canada and India did not have a one-on-one meeting, but instead met on the sidelines. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi raised concerns with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau about extremist elements in Canada who were involved in threats and violence towards Indian diplomats and the Indian community, while Trudeau brought up the accusations of Indian government involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The talks between the two leaders were tense, affecting ongoing trade discussions. Trudeau called upon the Indian government to cooperate with the investigation, and said: "Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty." Before a Cabinet meeting the next day, Trudeau said: "We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them."

The Canadian government has not made public any evidence linking the Indian government to the killing, citing the need to protect sensitive intelligence sources and methods. Canadian government sources with knowledge of the matter told the CBC that human and signals intelligence provided evidence of the Indian government's responsibility, including messages between Indian officials and intelligence from an unnamed Five Eyes alliance member. The U.S. Ambassador to Canada later confirmed that Canada had received intelligence shared from Five Eyes regarding the murder prior to the public allegations. Canada has however denied having evidence of prime minister Modi, foreign minister S. Jaishankar or the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval being involved in the attack.

The Canadian investigations are ongoing, including into possible connections between the killing and the Indian government. India responded by calling the claims "preposterous" and expelling six Canadian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move.

In October 2024, Canadian officials said they had evidence of Indian government involvement in home invasions, drive-by shootings, arson and two homicides, those of Nijjar and Sukhdool Singh. Investigations had revealed that Indian diplomats intimidated and coerced Canadians, who were seeking immigration documents and/or had family ties in India, to gather intelligence for the Research and Analysis Wing to pick targets who were then attacked by a gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi.

Diplomatic fallout Nijjar's death caused a diplomatic crisis, with Canada–India relations falling to their lowest point. The allegations have infuriated India, which rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated". The investigation directly led to the suspension of talks on a Canada–India trade deal on 1 September. Canadian foreign minister Mélanie Joly ordered the expulsion of Pavan Kumar Rai, a top Indian diplomat in Canada who headed the operations of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, in Canada. In response, India expelled Olivier Sylvestre, the chief of the Canadian intelligence office in India, the next day. Politicians from both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition, as well as news anchors, commentators and former ambassadors, accused Trudeau of making the allegations for political gain.

India issued a travel warning on 20 September 2023, urging Indian citizens to "exercise utmost caution" when travelling to Canada due to "growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate-crimes";

On 30 September 2023, the Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar said that India has had an ongoing problem with Canada for years, due to what he said was Canada's "permissiveness in regard to terrorism, extremism and violence in the country", and that "our diplomatic personnel have been consistently and continuously intimidated in Canada". In October, India ordered Canada to remove 41 of its diplomats from its embassy in Delhi.

In June 2024, Modi and Trudeau met briefly at the G7 summit in Italy, signalling that the diplomatic outcry over Nijjar's assassination may be receding. PM Trudeau further stated that there was a commitment to collaborate with India on some important issues. Under the Premiership of Mark Carney, ties between Canada and India eased, with the two nations restoring diplomatic ties in 2025.

Reactions

Indian Canadians Nijjar's killing intensified pre-existing splits among Indo-Canadians. Just over half of Canadians of Indian heritage are Sikh, while many others are Hindu. In the two years before Nijjar's killing, there had been sporadic clashes at demonstrations in Canada between Sikhs who support Khalistan and Hindus. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand privately raised the issue with Indian prime minister Modi in meetings at the 2023 G20 summit. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: "I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the United States and Canada. We have deep concerns about the allegations and we would like to see this investigation carried forward and the perpetrators held to account." He added that the United States would defend its basic principles "regardless of the country" and that the United States had been in touch with both India and Canada regarding the murder.

On 22 September, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States was "deeply concerned" about the allegations and was coordinating with Canadian authorities as they continued to investigate Nijjar's death. Blinken said: "We are extremely vigilant about any instances of alleged transnational repression—it's something we take very, very seriously." On 30 September, Blinken urged India's external affairs minister S. Jaishankar to cooperate with Canada's investigation.

In the days after Nijjar's murder, the FBI warned at least three American Sikh activists that their lives were in danger under the "duty to warn" doctrine, which requires American law enforcement to warn citizens of certain threats to their safety.

In November 2023, U.S. authorities claimed to have thwarted a plot by the Indian government to assassinate the US-based Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. An Indian government employee had an indictment filed against them in New York for their alleged role in the plot, which alleges that the Indian government employee told an undercover DEA agent that Pannun and Nijjar were "both on the same list of targets".

In March 2024, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters made remarks during an interview with the Indian media outlet The Indian Express that appeared to cast doubt on Five Eyes intelligence material from Canada arguing that the Indian Government was responsible for assassinating Nijjar. In response, a New Zealand Foreign Affairs spokesperson issued a statement clarifying that New Zealand was not questioning Canada's claim against India and that Peters was stating that the matter "is an ongoing investigation that needs to run its course before clear conclusions can be drawn." During a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron MacKay, Peters clarified that New Zealand's position on Hardeep Singh remained unchanged and that he was not questioning Canada's claim.

Bangladesh Bangladeshi foreign minister AK Abdul Momen expressed grievances against Canada's extradition policies over the treatment of S. H. M. B. Noor Chowdhury, describing Canada as a "hub for murderers".

Pakistan Pakistan's foreign office said that India's "network of extra-territorial killings" has gone global, which is "a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty."

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Ali Sabry, accused Canada of being a "safe haven for terrorists", in reference to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and suggested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was prone to making "outrageous allegations without any supporting proof", citing Trudeau's claim that Sri Lanka committed genocide during the Sri Lankan Civil War.