Dossier points to Nijjar's ISI links, terror network

Ottawa is yet to provide credible evidence that India was behind the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, but Canadian intelligence continues to push the narrative of him being the innocent and religious-minded head of Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada.

- Shishir Gupta

A dossier put together by Indian intelligence agencies claims that he became the head of the Sikh temple by threatening his own cousin and the temple's former president Raghbir Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, the dossier adds, was an old associate of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terrorist Gurdeep Singh aka Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in over 200 killings in Punjab in late 1980s and early 1990s. He was initiated into crime by another gang lord, Gurnek Singh aka Neka.

Nijjar escaped to Canada on a forged passport in the name of "Ravi Sharma" in 1996 and kept a low profile as a truck driver and a plumber, the dossier adds. He came in touch with Pakistan based KTF chief Jagtar Singh Tara and visited Pakistan under the cover of being a Baisakhi jatha member in April 2012, it says. He was radicalised by Tara and cultivated by Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with the former imparting him arms and explosives training in 2012 and 2013. The dossier even claims that in 2013, Tara sent the US-based Harjot Singh Birring to Canada to train Nijjar in using a handheld GPS device.