Canadian police arrest close associate of slain Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a shocking revelation about the presence of a Khalistan support network in Canada, Arshdeep Singh Gill, a terrorist linked to the Khalistani movement and known as Arsh Dalla, was detained in Canada on Nov 10.

Following a shootout in Canada on Oct 27–28, Dalla, a close associate of the deceased Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was taken into custody.

On Oct 29, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) announced that they had arrested two men on charges of "discharging a firearm with intent" after an investigation.

The arrests followed an incident in which both men arrived at a hospital, where one of them was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound before being discharged.

Sources indicated that one of the arrested individuals is believed to be Arsh Dalla.

“The HRPS Major Crime Bureau is now investigating. Both males have been arrested. A 25-year-old male from Halton Hills and a 28-year-old male from Surrey, BC, have been charged with discharging a firearm with intent,” the police statement said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

Arshdeep Singh Gill, alias Arsh Dalla, was born in Ludhiana but has recently lived in Surrey, British Columbia. He was designated a terrorist by the Indian government in 2023 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, using the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Act.

According to a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official notification, Dalla is associated with the banned terrorist organization Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

Dalla, a wanted criminal for multiple murders in Punjab, became active in 2020 and is charged with crimes including targeted killings, extortion, and murder. He is also accused of financing terrorism and smuggling guns and drugs across international borders.

The MHA notification states that Dalla is implicated in several cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), including targeted killings, extortion for terrorism funding, attempted murder, disturbing communal harmony, and inciting fear among the people of Punjab.

He is linked to the notorious Canadian gangster Goldy Brar and the International Sikh Youth Federation, a terrorist organization.

In 2023, Delhi Police stated that Dalla had ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Dalla claimed responsibility for the murder of Congress leader Baljinder Singh Balli, who was shot dead at his home in Punjab’s Moga in September 2023.

Dalla and Nijjar established a three-member KTF module responsible for the murder of Tejinder Singh, alias Pinka, a store owner in Moga, Punjab.

He had planned to assassinate a Hindu president in Jalandhar in 2021 and was involved in the murders of a Dera Sacha Sauda disciple in Nov 2020 and a criminal named Sukhpreet Singh.

Dalla teamed up with Nijjar in Jan 2022 to target Harmanbir Singh Gill, the then-SSP of Moga, as well as two inspectors from the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) wing in Moga.

Recently, two key members of Dalla's group were arrested by the Punjab Police on Nov 10 on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Sikh activist Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau in Faridkot district last month.

The two men detained on the orders of the Canadian gangster also shot and killed a man named Jasawant Singh Gill (45) in the Gwalior area of Madhya Pradesh.

Since Nijjar was shot dead in Surrey on June 18, 2023, relations between India and Canada have deteriorated.

Trudeau has accused Indian government officials of being involved in Nijjar’s killing.

Last month, India recalled its envoy, Sanjay Verma, after Canadian authorities designated him and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the Nijjar murder investigation. New Delhi condemned the move and expelled six Canadian diplomats.