‘India Needs To Take This Seriously’: Trudeau On Nijjar Probe After US Allegations

After the United States alleged that it had foiled an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist on American soil, Canada has asked India to cooperate in an investigation into the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Speaking on the US charges, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the latest charges have underscored what Canada has been talking about from the very beginning, and now India needs to take this seriously.

“The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we’ve been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters. On Wednesday, an Indian national was charged by federal prosecutors in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, said that Nikhil Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The charges levied by the US came two months after the Canadian Prime Minister alleged India’s involvement in the murder of Khalistani leader Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.