Canada denies entry to Indian CRPF officer presumably for rights violation in Kashmir
The officer served as an inspector general of police in the CRPF.
(Web Desk) - A retired officer of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was denied entry into Canada. According to a news report published in the Hindustantimes, the retired officer was denied entry because immigration authorities said that he had served a government that engages in “terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide”.
According to the news report, the officer served as inspector general of police in the CRPF and was declared inadmissible under a subsection of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act last week. The document given to Dhillon had mentioned that he served a government that engages in “terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity”.
The news report said that the clause was removed from a second report issued by immigration authorities. However, the immigration authorities still maintained the fact that the officer could not be allowed into the country as he had served with CRPF, which had “committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses, for example torture, arbitrary detention, murder and sexual assault”.
The CRPF is the main force that serves in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Over the years, it has been alleged that the force commits widespread human rights abuses, ranging from illegal detentions and encounters to rape. In the recent upsurge in protests in Kashmir at the end of last year, the CRPF was involved in using pellet guns that blinded many protestors. Moreover, recently, officers of the CRPF had tied a Kashmiri youth to a jeep to act as a shield against stone throwing protesters.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Canada’s high commissioner to Delhi said that oversights like these are possible and form letters used by Canada’s government include generic language taken from Canada’s legislation. He added that it was not necessary that such language reflects Canada’s policy towards India or the CRPF.
Dhillon informed Hindustantimes that he had been going to Canada for more than 30 years and had a passport valid till 2024. He had visited Canada while serving as an officer of the CRPF.
The retired officer also said that officers who interrogated him accused him of participating in or having knowledge of rights violations by the CRPF. After the completion of his interrogation, the officer’s visa was cancelled and he was deported back to India.
It could be a possibility that this action by immigration authorities is a part of a policy by the administration of Justin Trudeau, who is very vocal about human rights issues.
The report originally appeared in Hindustantimes.com
