Canada arrests Indian murder suspect linked to prominent Khalistan activist

Toronto (AFP): A man wanted for murder in India, who is also an alleged associate of a prominent Canadian Khalistan activist, has been arrested in Canada on gun charges, a local broadcaster said on Wednesday.

Arshdeep Singh Gill, 28, was one of two men arrested in late October in Milton, Ontario and charged with the illegal discharging of a firearm after showing up at a local hospital, CTV News said.

One of the two suspects was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound during an apparent shooting in the area, which local police are now investigating, according to a police statement.

CTV said Gill and the other suspect, Gurjant Singh, remain in custody pending a bail hearing that has yet to be scheduled.

According to a January 2023 Indian Ministry of Home Affairs notice, Gill is wanted on suspicion of murder, extortion, the smuggling of large quantities of drugs and weapons, and terror financing.

He is also described in the document cited by CTV and seen by AFP as having been “very close” to Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a naturalized Canadian citizen and prominent Khalistan campaigner who was killed in Vancouver in 2023.

Ottawa has accused India of orchestrating Nijjar’s murder, and linked a broader campaign targeting Canadian Sikh activists to the highest levels of India’s government.

India has dismissed the allegations, which have sent diplomatic relations into freefall, with both nations last month each expelling the other’s ambassador and other senior diplomats.

Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India, and includes activists for “Khalistan,” a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory.

Any support for the Khalistan movement within India today, which dates back to the country’s 1947 independence, faces a swift crackdown.