canadian-intel-chief-made-quiet-india-visits

Canada's intelligence agency chief David Vigneault paid two quiet visits to India in February and March to update Indian officials in the case related to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, sources said

Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), is learnt to have shared information from Ottawa's investigations into the killing.

Ties between India and Canada have soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations in September last year of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing.

 

New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".

 

Vigneault's visits to India came weeks before Canada arrested three Indian nationals – Karanpreet Singh (28), Kamalpreet Singh (22) and Karan Brar (22) – on charges of alleged involvement in the  killing.

 

Subsequently, a fourth Indian, Amandeep Singh, was arrested by the Canadian authorities.

 

Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in Surrey on June 18 last year.

 

The murder is being probed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

 

A government of Canada official said: "We can confirm that the Director of CSIS, David Vigneault, has travelled to India but we do not comment on the nature or substance of closed-door meetings, PTI reported.

 

"With that said, since Canada became aware of the credible allegations, we have consistently provided all the information we can to India on the Nijjar case, through multiple channels," he said.

 

"This has also been noted by Prime Minister Trudeau and Canada's minister for public safety on the public record," he added.

 

The official said, "Canada's priorities from the start have been to ensure truth and accountability. This is in both our countries' interest. In this regard, Canada continues to underscore the importance of the ongoing, independent investigation led by the RCMP." 

 

There was no comment from the Indian side when asked about Vigneault's visits.

 

The people cited above said besides Vigneault, some other Canadian officials also visited India this year apparently to discuss various aspects of the case related to Nijjar's murder.

 

India has officially been maintaining that it has not received any specific information relating to the case from Canada.

 

New Delhi has said its main issue with Canada has been that the country has given space to pro-Khalistani elements operating from Canadian soil.

 

In the last few months, India has been expressing concerns over the security of its diplomats in Canada and calling on Ottawa to ensure that they can carry out their responsibilities without fear.

 

There have been instances of pro-Khalistani elements threatening to harm Indian diplomats.

 

Days after Trudeau's allegations last year, India asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity.

 

Canada subsequently withdrew 41 diplomats and their family members from India.