Jaspal Atwal, a former member of the banned Sikh extremist group, became the centre of a fresh controversy surrounding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to India. What is the controversy about? The Canada-based businessman was invited to an event in Delhi by the Canadian High Commission in India. The dinner invitation was later rescinded by Canadian High Commissioner Nadir Patel. PM Trudeau said Atwal should have never received an invitation and blamed a member of Parliament for including his name on the guest list. “Obviously, we take this extremely seriously. He should never have received an invitation. As soon as we received the info we rescinded it, a member of Parliament had included this individual,” said Trudeau. The controversy over Atwal's presence in India erupted after he was photographed with Gregoire Trudeau, the prime minister's wife, and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi at an event in Mumbai. Who is Jaspal Atwal? Atwal was a Sikh separatist part of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). The pro-Khalistan organisation gained international notoriety when its leader, Talwinder Parmar, bombed an Air India flight in 1985, killing 331 people. How was he involved with the ISYF? Atwal was among the four men who attempted to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu on Vancouver Island in 1986. The men ambushed Sidhu during a private trip to Canada and fired shots at his car. Sidhu survived the attack but, five years later, was killed in Punjab's Moga. A trial court convicted him and sentenced Atwal and others to 20 years' imprisonment. The trial court described the assassination bid as an "act of terrorism". Atwal appealed against the trial court verdict and it was overturned. Atwal was also allegedly involved in a 1985 attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, a strong opponent of the Khalistan movement. He was severely injured in the attack but survived. Atwal was charged but was later acquitted. In 2010, Atwal was convicted in an automobile fraud case. Canada's Supreme Court ruled that Atwal was part of a gang that falsely reported vehicles stolen, changed the registrations numbers and sold them to unwitting buyers. How did the Indian government react to Atlwal's visit? Atwal was previously on the MHA blacklist of Sikh extremists but his name was removed during a periodical review. Names of nearly 150 wanted terrorists and their associates were removed from the blacklist in the last few years, a home ministry official told PTI. Atwal's name no longer figures in the current blacklist, he added. Once the government removed the name of an individual from the blacklist, he/she is free to enter and leave India. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said it is not clear how the Khalistani activist was given visa. “There are two aspects to it, presence and visa. The Canadian side has already clarified that the invitation has been withdrawn. About the Visa, I don’t know how it happened. We will ascertain information from our Commission,” said Raveesh Kumar, MEA Spokesperson. He also said, “Let us not presume things and decide how he managed to come. This is something which we are trying to find out. In due course, we will be able to come up with a reason that how he managed to come in India.”
