Amid an escalation stand off between India and Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that Canada failed to act on India’s request seeking extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members.
Addressing in a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that similar extradition requests of syndicates linked to the Bishnoi gang were made recently as well, but Canada has not responded yet.
The Ministry also furnished names of Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh Gill, Lakhbir Singh Landa, Gurpreet Singh for extradition, stating that the members of the Bishnoi gang were among them.
Randhir Jaiswal said that the MEA had informed Canada about the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its syndicates and requested their provisional arrest and extradition some years back, and also recently. Nonetheless, there has been no response from Canada so far, he continued.
The MEA spokesperson also reiterated that Canada did not share any evidence in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He stated that India has made their position very clear on this particular matter. He added that since September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared any shred of information with the MEA.
He said that Canada always brought forth freedom of speech as their argument whenever India sought action against anti-India and separatist elements.
Notably, the government’s statement came a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was earlier mentioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for being involved in the murder of Nijjar in September last year.
Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were collecting information on Canadians and passing it to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. While testifying before the country’s foreign interference inquiry, Justin Trudeau claimed that the Canadian agencies tried to work behind the scenes with India before he came out with the allegation in NIjjar killings.
In the same testimony, Justin Trudeau also acknowledged that his government only provided intelligence and no proof to India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
India-Canada diplomatic relations worsened earlier this week when Canada announced that top Indian diplomats in Ottawa were persons of interest, as far as its investigation into Nijjar’s killing was concerned. In retaliation, India dismissed Canada’s stand, and recalled six of its top diplomats from Canada, including High Commissioner Sanjay Verma.