The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday termed as “false and completely fabricated” a US media report which claimed that Delhi had issued a “secret memorandum” to its diplomatic missions in April to take action against Sikh separatists including Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“No such memorandum exists,” ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a press statement. “It is part of a sustained disinformation campaign against India. The outlet in question is known for promoting false narratives peddled by Pakistani intelligence. The authors’ contributions confirm this connection.”
“Those who spread such fake news do so only at the cost of their own credibility,” he added.
Bagchi issued a statement in response to reporters’ questions about the report. He did not name the news organization or the report.
On Sunday, The Intercept, a digital non-profit news organization based in the United States, reported that the Indian government reportedly issued a written order to its consulates in April to deal with the threat posed by Khalistan sympathizers in Western countries. The purported order, which names several Sikh separatists including Nijjar, was signed by Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra, The Intercept reports.
Nijjar was killed by masked gunmen on June 18 near Vancouver, Canada.
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s murder.
Najjar was a supporter of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, which some groups called for. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated as a terrorist organization in India.
India dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd and motivated”. Later, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he had informed Canada that it was not New Delhi’s policy to engage in such acts.
On November 15, Jaishankar said India had not ruled out an investigation into Nijjar’s killing and asked Canada for evidence to support its claims of New Delhi’s involvement in the case.
