NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly rejected a media report that it had sent a “secret memo” to missions in North America in April, seeking “concrete measures” against Sikh separatists, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in June.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that the report is part of a “sustained disinformation campaign” against India, pointing out that the outlet (The Intercept) responsible for the report is known for disseminating “fake narratives” promoted by Pakistani intelligence.
“We strongly assert that such reports are fake and completely fabricated. There is no such memo,” he 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.”
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that there was a possibility of Indian agents being involved in the murder of Nijjar on Canadian soil on June 18.
A diplomatic dispute unfolded between the two nations, leading to India temporarily suspending its visa services in Canada. Although the services eventually resumed, the incident prompted Ottawa to withdraw around 40 diplomats from India. New Delhi highlighted a disparity in the number of diplomats between India and Canada.
The American media platform reported that the Indian government supposedly issued instructions for a “crackdown scheme” targeting specific Sikh entities in Western countries.
Additionally, it claimed that a confidential memorandum from the MEA, dated April, contains a list of “Sikh dissidents under investigation by India’s intelligence agencies”, which includes Canadian citizen Nijjar. The report stated that the memo was sent two months prior to the killing of Nijjar in Vancouver.
