Indian diplomat in Ottawa offered hitman $50,000 to kill Khalistan referendum organizer: SFJ

OTTAWA/WASHINGTON: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based pro-Khalistan advocacy group, has alleged that a serving Indian diplomat in Ottawa tried to arrange the killing of Interjet Singh Ghosal, describing it as a “contract to kill” scheme involving a $50,000 kill.

SFJ said Canadian security and intelligence agencies were aware of the alleged plot and that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had recently offered protective measures to Gosal because of what the group described as an imminent threat.

Ghosal has previously been identified in Canadian media as an organizer of the Sikh separatist campaign for an independence referendum for Punjab, and said he received a “warning duty” police notice about threats he believed came from India – a claim India has repeatedly rejected in wider disputes.

SFJ general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said the group is making the allegations public to prevent another killing of a Sikh activist in Canada, citing the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia — an event that triggered a major diplomatic rift between Canada and India.

In its statement, SFJ also called on supporters to closely monitor the movements of India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh K Patnaik. Public safety experts generally discourage citizens from taking such actions and instead urge anyone with credible threat information to report it directly to police. Patnaik is listed as India’s High Commissioner to Canada.

The allegations come amid a sensitive period in Canada-India relations. In October 2024, Canada expelled several Indian diplomats, linking them to an RCMP investigation into violent criminal activity related to the Nijjar case – a charge India called “absurd”.

Recently, Gosal was offered “Witness Protection” by the RCMP due to an imminent threat to his life.

According to Pannun, several Canadian security channels – including the RCMP, which recently offered witness protection to Gosal – have already received and evaluated information about the Contract-To-Kill plan against Gosal.

This information was shared at the highest levels of the Canadian government, including: Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office. Office of the Secretary of State Anita Anand. and Office of the Minister of Public Security.

Pannun said: “The Gosal Contract-to-Kill plot is the direct result of Prime Minister Carney opening trade talks with Modi without demanding accountability. Canadian sovereignty has collapsed to the point where Indian diplomats feel free to orchestrate assassinations.”