Canadian High Commission to India Cameron Mackay has alleged that the recent US indictment of an Ex-Indian government employee is linked to a single murder plot, which both Canada and the US are probing. Mackay, who left India in August said in an interview with CBC News that it is a “fiasco on the part of the Indian government” for thinking its agents could orchestrate violent crimes in Canada and the US and get away with it.
He asserted that Ex-Indian Intelligence Official, Vikas Yadav’s ongoing probe to assassinate pro-Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil presents a ‘compelling and detailed portrait’ of a single plot. According to media reports, Mackay linked the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last June and the murder plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.
In his recent statement, Mackay noted, “The indictment and charges in the US just yesterday, along with the indictment released on November 29, 2023, create a compelling and detailed picture of a single plot originating from Delhi to eliminate multiple targets across North America, in US and Canada.
Charges Against Vikas Yadav
US federal prosecutors have charged Vikash Yadav, 39 for allegedly orchestrating a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District, New York recently announced that it has filed ‘murder-for-hire and money laundering charges’ against Yadav.
India-Canada Row
The political row between India and Canada escalated after Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Melanie Joly, on Friday said that the remaining Indian diplomats in the country are ‘clearly on notice.’ This warning follows allegations linking the Indian government to the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The India-Canada row intensified earlier this week after Canada expelled India’s high commissioner and five others, citing they were involved in the murder plot of Nijjar. In response, India also expelled six Canadian diplomats.
