Indian and Canadian officials have been engaged in several rounds of discussions in recent months regarding the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Among these meetings were at least two high-level talks between Canada’s former intelligence chief, David Vigneault, and a senior Indian intelligence official, conducted in a third country, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
David Vigneault, who led the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) until his retirement on July 4, met with the Indian official after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections. Vanessa Lloyd has since taken over as the interim CSIS director.
India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, also engaged in four meetings with Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Nathalie G. Drouin, this year. These discussions were described as “amicable” and focused on Nijjar’s case.
Nijjar, who was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 of the previous year, was declared a terrorist by India in 2020. The Indian government has rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a possible connection between Indian agents and Nijjar’s death as “absurd.”
A spokesperson for CSIS confirmed that the director had traveled to India but did not provide further details, citing operational security concerns. The Indian external affairs ministry has not commented on the meetings.
In June, it was reported that Vigneault made two unannounced visits to India earlier this year, in February and March, to discuss the Nijjar case. These developments come amid a broader shake-up within India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), including the removal of officials connected to a “murder for hire” plot targeting Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. This follows earlier reshuffles involving Vikram Yadav of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other officials.