11.27°C Vancouver

Sep 20, 2023 5:47 PM - The Canadian Press

Hardeep Nijjar's son revealed that his father used to meet with CSIS

Share On
hardeep-nijjars-son-revealed-that-his-father-used-to-meet-with-csis
Balraj Nijjar says he also attended a meeting between his father and the RCMP last year in which they were told about threats to his father's life, and he was advised to "stay at home" (Photo: The Canadian Press)

The son of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says his father was meeting regularly with Canadian intelligence officers in the months before he was shot dead in British Columbia, in a killing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says has been credibly linked to India.

Balraj Nijjar says in an interview that his father was meeting Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers "once or twice a week," including one or two days before the June 18 killing, with another meeting scheduled for two days after his death.

Balraj Nijjar says he also attended a meeting between his father and the RCMP last year in which they were told about threats to his father's life, and he was advised to "stay at home."

Hardeep Nijjar, a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement that advocates for a separate Sikh homeland in the Punjab was gunned down by two masked men in the parking lot of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where he was president.

Trudeau announced to Parliament on Monday that intelligence services were investigating "credible" information about "a potential link" between India's government and the killing.

India's government has denied the accusation as "absurd and motivated."

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-based spokesman for the group Sikhs for Justice and a close associate of Nijjar, says Nijjar had asked Canadian authorities whether he should wear a bulletproof vest in the weeks before he was gunned down.

The New York-based lawyer saysNijjar asked about the vest in April or May, and the agencies responded to the effect that they could not provide one.

Pannun says Nijjar had also told him a year earlier, around July 2022, that Canadian authoritieshad told him about a threat to his life.

He says they told Nijjar he shouldn't go to his gurdwara at his usual times and he should avoid being seen in public.

But Balraj Nijjar said neither he nor his father wanted to hide.

"We weren't worried about safety because we weren't doing anything wrong. We were just using freedom of speech," he said.

India had previously accused Hardeep Nijjar of terrorism and separatism. He was a key proponent of Sikh independence and had been helping organize an unofficial referendum on Sikh independence in India.

Pannun said he believed Nijjar chose to go about his daily life despite the warnings from Canadian authorities because his campaigning in Canada was peaceful.

"Since the Khalistan referendum is a peaceful and a democratic process, and he is in Canada, where freedom of speech and expression is inherently a democratic, fundamental right," he said.

A media officer for the RCMP in B.C. said a request for a response had been forwarded to RCMP national headquarters. CSIS did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Latest news

police-investigate-shots-fired-at-surrey-business
CanadaOct 29, 2025

Police probe overnight shooting that damaged Surrey business

Police in Surrey are investigating after gunfire caused property damage to a business in the city’s South Surrey area earlier this week. Surrey Police Service (SPS) and the RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit (SPOSU) say the incident was reported around 11:35 a.m. on October 28. Officers were called to a business in the 15200 block of Croydon Drive, where they confirmed that the building’s exterior had been struck by bullets. Investigators believe the shooting took place sometime between 8:30 p.m. on October 27 and 8:30 a.m. the next morning. No one was inside the business at th
drug-related-offences-rise-nationally-for-first-time-in-12-years-statcan
CanadaOct 29, 2025

Drug-related offences rise nationally for first time in 12 years – StatCan

Statistics Canada says the country’s rate of police-reported drug crime has increased for the first time in more than a decade, marking a 13 per cent jump between 2023 and 2024. The new data shows the rise was driven by higher numbers of possession and trafficking charges involving cannabis, cocaine and opioids other than heroin. Despite the recent uptick, the national rate remains well below its historical peak. The 2024 figure stood at 128 incidents per 100,000 people – down 61 per cent from a high of 330 in 2011. The Northwest Territories recorded the highest rate of drug crime last yea
bc-government-calls-emergency-meeting-with-federal-ministers
BCOct 29, 2025

BC government calls emergency meeting with federal ministers

The BC government is calling an emergency meeting with federal ministers in Vancouver next week, also known as the Forestry Sector Summit, in light of the trade dispute with the US and the recent increase in tariffs on softwood, with Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar inviting federal ministers Dominique LeBlanc and Melanie Joly to attend. The BC government intends to seek financial assistance from the federal government to help the struggling forestry sector and combat the tariffs. Parmar said that forestry for us in BC is like the auto sector and the steel sector, which the government should a
IndiaOct 29, 2025

CBI books Punjab DIG HS Bhullar in fresh case for amassing disproportionate assets

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case against arrested Punjab IPS officer Harcharan Singh Bhullar for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets running into several crores, far beyond his known sources of income. The registration of this second case follows a detailed written complaint dated October 29 by CBI Inspector Sonal Mishra, who cited the recovery of massive undeclared wealth from Bhullar’s residence during searches earlier this month.
a-serious-motorcycle-crash-that-closed-highway-97c-is-prompting-a-call-for-witnesses-and-video
BCOct 29, 2025

A serious motorcycle crash that closed Highway 97C is prompting a call for witnesses and video

Police are looking for witnesses and dash-camera video to explain what led to a serious, single-vehicle motorcycle collision that shut down Highway 97C. On October 27, 2025, at 2:15 p.m., a blue Harley-Davidson with two people on board crashed on Highway 97C several kilometres north of the junction with Highway #8. The driver of the motorcycle, a 37-year-old man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. His passenger, a 39-year-old Logan Lake woman was hospitalized with life-altering and life-threatening injuries. “Alcohol and speed are being investigated as contributing fa

Related News