‘Trudeau has a number of Khalistani extremist, anti-India friends in his circle’: Recalled High Commissioner Sanjay Verma

Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma, who was recalled from Canada, after being named as a ‘person of interest’ in the investigation of the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, has said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inner circle included Khalistani extremists and anti-India elements.

"Justin Trudeau has a number of friends who are anti-Indian elements and Khalistani extremists. He has such a circle. When he visited India in 2018, we know what happened. There are people around him who have sympathy towards Khalistan," Verma said in an exclusive interview with India Today. 

Verma said that in 2018, Khalistani sympathiser Jaspal Atwal was invited to official events attended by Trudeau.

On Canada’s claims that India has not cooperated in the Nijjar killing probe, Verma said, "We have not seen any hard evidence which can be justifiable legally shared with us. We were only carrying out our duties as per the Vienna convention framework. We have not done anything to violate the convention." Trudeau had acknowledged that his government did not share ‘evidentiary proof’ but only ‘intelligence’ with the Indian government. 

Verma said Khalistani extremists were resorting to hooliganism outside the Indian consulates and diplomats were intimidated through social media. He said that there was continuous threats to the consulate employees. “The Canadian government did provide some security to me as the High Commissioner and two consul generals in Toronto and Vancouver. But we had many more colleagues than just the three of us," he said.

India-Canada ties soured after Trudeau accused Indian agents of being involved in the killing of Nijjar. It plummeted dramatically earlier this month after the Canadian government said Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner, were "persons of interest" in the probe into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India responded by withdrawing these diplomats, and expelling six Canadian diplomats from the country.