India counters Canada: Sought arrest of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members, no action taken

The Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said India has 26 extradition requests pending with Canada over the past decade, in addition to several requests for the provisional arrest of five persons charged with terror and related crimes — Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Lakbir Singh Landa and Arshdeep Singh Gill.

“We have shared security-related information with the Canadian government regarding gang members, including those from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and requested them to take action or arrest them in accordance with the law. However, no action has been taken by the Canadian side on our request. This is very serious. I also find it strange that the same people we asked to be deported, and against whom we requested action, are now being used to blame us for the crimes they have committed in Canada. This is a contradiction we don’t understand,” Jaiswal said at a press briefing.

Responding to a question on the impact on economic ties, Jaiswal said: “India-Canada economic ties are very strong and vibrant. We have a lot of Canadian pension funds invested here. We have a large Indian diaspora in Canada, which serves as a bridge through which we maintain strong people-to-people links. Canada is a major beneficiary of these connections. We possibly have the largest cohort of international students in Canada as well. This particular crisis has been precipitated by the Trudeau government’s baseless allegations.”

Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comment before the Foreign Interference Commission that he believes in ‘One India’ policy, Jaiswal said: “We have requested action against anti-India elements who actively work against India’s unity, call for the dismemberment and disunity of the country, and espouse separatist ideologies. No action has been taken. So, in a sense, there is a difference — a gap between action and words here.”

Amid the diplomatic blowback, Jaiswal hinted that visa processing on the Indian side could be affected. While he noted that Indian staff in Canada were working on visa requests, Jaiswal acknowledged that this was a “difficult time”.