Truth will come out, says slain Sikh leader's son
Last updated on: 20 September,2023 10:50 am
Balraj Nijjar, 21, was speaking publicly for the first time since the assassination of his father
SURREY, Canada (Reuters) – The son of a Sikh leader killed earlier this year has said that he feels a sense of relief after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government on Monday of being involved in the assassination.
Balraj Sing Nijjar, 21, was speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting dead of his father Hardeep, 45, on June 18, shortly after evening prayers at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau said the House of Commons that intelligence reports had found credible links between Indian government agents and the killing, though no one has been charged yet.
The Indian government had previously offered a reward for Hardeep’s arrest, accusing the gurdwara president of heading a violent separatist movement for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Balraj, the elder of Hardeep’s two sons, said his family and close friends always suspected the Indian government was behind his father’s brazen killing.
"It was just a matter of time when the truth would come out, so when I heard that yesterday there was a sense of relief, you know its funny coming to the public eye that the Indian government is involved," Balraj told Reuters.
‘INDIA WILL BREAK’
In an exclusive talk with Dunya News in London, Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Mann Singh Pannu said that the murder of Hardeep would break India.
A clear line had been drawn between India and Sikhs after the involvement of the Delhi government and its secret agency in the murder, he added.
Pannu said that Sikhs would take revenge from India for Hardeep’s killing. The Indian government wanted to prove Sikhs as terrorists. “We are not terrorists. After the success of the Khalistan referendum, the Indian government is in panic. The pen is our weapon; we will follow international laws,” he continued.
The Sikh leader said that the people of Indian Punjab wanted freedom. India will break and Punjab will become independent and become Khalistan.
So far, one million people living abroad have voted for freedom in referendum, Pannu concluded.