Hardeep Singh Nijjar Killing: Who Is Pavan Kumar Rai, The Indian Diplomat Expelled From Canada?

The diplomatic row that erupted between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June has taken yet another turn after the Canadian authorities revealed the name of the expelled 'top Indian diplomat'.

Canadian Foreign Ministry allegedly leaked the name of the top Indian diplomat to the media there.

Indian Diplomacy

Who is Pavan Kumar Rai?

The diplomat has been identified as Pavan Kumar Rai, who is said to be the Canadian station chief of India's intelligence agency RAW.

Rai, a 1997-batch Punjab cadre IPS officer who had served as SSP in Jalandhar and Amritsar, was later deputed to RAW.

He was posted to Ottawa as minister (eco, coordination, community affairs) in the Indian High Commission in 2018.

What did Canadian PM say

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Parliament that there were "credible allegations of a potential link" between Indian government agents and the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

REUTERS

"Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," he said.

What India did in retaliation

In a tit-for-tat measure, India announced the expulsion of a senior Canadian diplomat on Tuesday.

Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron MacKay was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and informed about the decision to expel the senior Canadian diplomat.

#WATCH | Canadian High Commissioner to India, Cameron MacKay leaves from the MEA headquarters at South Block, New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/zFAaTFfeAP

¡ª ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2023

MEA rejects allegations

Earlier, in a strongly worded statement, the MEA had rejected the allegation of Trudeau.

MEA said the allegations of the Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are "absurd and motivated".

"We have seen and rejected the statement of the Canadian prime minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their foreign minister," it said.

It said, "such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern," the MEA said.

The MEA said similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and were completely rejected.

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar

46-year-old Nijjar, originally from Bhar Singh Pura village in Jalandhar, was shot on the evening of June 18 at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

REUTERS

Nijjar, who was associated with the Khalistani Tiger Force (KTF) and another banned terror outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was declared a terrorist by India.

Two unidentified suspects shot him dead on the evening of June 18 at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

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