By Stewart Bell & Jeff Semple
https://globalnews.ca/video/11515833/wiretap-evidence-sheds-light-on-nijjar-murder
Conversations intercepted by Canada and the United Kingdom implicate high-level Indian officials in the assassination of a B.C. Sikh leader, Global News has confirmed.
British intelligence provided Canada with the initial tip that it had picked up communications tying India’s government to the 2023 shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canadian authorities later obtained their own intercept corroborating the involvement of Indian officials, among them Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man, Amit Shah.
The monitored conversations, together with other evidence, explain why Ottawa accuses New Delhi of orchestrating the murder of the Canadian-Sikh activist, even as India denies any role.
The British High Commission declined to discuss the matter. “It is the U.K.’s long-standing position that we do not comment on intelligence matters,” a spokesperson said on Thursday.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not respond to questions.
The intercepts would be “strong evidence,” since they come from the Five Eyes intelligence partnership between Canada, the U.K., U.S., Australia and New Zealand, said Dan Stanton, a former senior Canadian Security Intelligence Service officer.
“This is the gold standard of alliances,” said Stanton, who is writing a book on transnational repression. “It has a lot of weight. Then you bring in some corroboration from Canadian intelligence as well.”
Bloomberg first reported on the intercepted communications on Wednesday. Global News confirmed the veracity of the news report and obtained additional details about Canada’s role.
This story was originally published in globalnews.ca. Read the full story here.
