The Indian government on Sunday (December 10, 2023) negated a recent media report on Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, that claimed that New Delhi sent a ‘secret memo’ to consulates in North America to launch a “sophisticated crackdown scheme” against Sikh diaspora organisations in Western countries.
India termed the report as ‘fake and completely fabricated’.
“There is no such memo,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“This is part of a sustained disinformation campaign against India. The outlet in question is known for propagating fake narratives peddled by Pakistani intelligence. The posts of the authors confirm this linkage,” he said.
“Those who amplify such fake news only do so at the cost of their own credibility,” he said rejecting the media report.
Bagchi was referring to the report published in The Intercept.
The news portal claimed that the memo listed several Sikh dissidents under investigation by India’s intelligence agencies, including the Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Concrete measures shall be adopted to hold the suspects accountable,” the memo says as quoted by The Intercept.
Nijjar was murdered in Vancouver in June, two months after being named as a target in the document. The Canadian government said the killing was ordered by Indian intelligence, the news portal reported.
Diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa soured after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that New Delhi could be behind Nijjar’s killing.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on September 18 alleged the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey British Columbia on June 18.
India dismissed the allegation, calling it “absurd” and “motivated.”
In 2020, India designated Nijjar as a terrorist.