Canada declaring me 'person of interest' came as a shock, says Sanjay Verma

India's recalled high commissioner Sanjay Verma said Khalistani terrorists, extremists found refuge in Canada due to lenient Canadian legal system

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India's recalled high commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma on Thursday said that Canada declaring him 'person of interest' came as a "shock".

 

On his treatment by the Canadian government, Verma, who was recalled last week, said in an interview with PTI, "Declaring me 'person of interest' by Canada came as a shock, a kind of back-stabbing. Most unprofessional approach to bilateral relations."

 

Calling Canada's behaviour "the pits", he further said, "Canada is a beautiful place, Canadians good people, very welcoming but for Khalistani terrorists and their backers. Khalistani terrorists, extremists found refuge in Canada due to lenient Canadian legal system." 

 

"A child that cries the most gets fed first by the mother. Similarly, even though they are only a handful, they shout the most and get the most attention from Canadian political backers," he said.

  "Khalistanis intimidate other Sikhs by threatening to target daughters, families. To get support they intimidate common Sikhs there, including with threats such as 'we know where your daughter is studying'. Just a handful, about 10,000 people, of Sikhs in Canada are hard-line Khalistanis, made Khalistan a business," he added.

 

"The Khalistanis have made Khalistan into a business in Canada. In the name of Khalistan, they do human trafficking, drug trafficking, gun-running and all. They earn a lot of money through that and also through gurudwaras and they use part of that money for all nefarious jobs," he said. 

 

Verma was declared as a "person of interest" by Canada last week as part of its investigation into the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen designated as a Khalistani terrorist by India. However, before Canada could proceed with further action -- it had requested waiver of diplomatic immunity for the Indian diplomats named in its investigation -- New Delhi recalled Verma along with five other diplomats.