The Canadian police have sent letters warning at least two Sikh persons in the country of threats to their lives because of their work as alleged Khalistani separatists, The Canadian Press reported on Tuesday.

The “duty to warn” letters were issued to Inderjeet Singh Gosal in Ontario and Manjinder Singh in British Columbia informing them that there were credible, serious and imminent threats against them, the news agency reported.

While there was no threat to their families or friends, they could be harmed during an attempt to assassinate Gosal and Singh, the agency quoted the two as having been informed. The letters said that the police could not provide more details.

Gosal is a coordinator of non-binding referendums held by Khalistan supporters, The Canadian Press reported. Khalistan is an independent Sikh nation in India sought by some groups.

The police told the two Khalistan supporters that if they did not want security assistance, they should take legal precautions to protect themselves, their families and friends, the news agency reported.

In June 2023, Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurudwara in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated a terrorist outfit in India.

Ties between India and Canada had deteriorated sharply in 2023 after Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister at the time, told his country’s Parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to the murder of Nijjar. New Delhi has rejected Canada’s allegations.

Four Indian citizens are facing trial in Canada in connection with Nijjar’s killing. They face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

There has since been a thaw in diplomatic relations between India and Canada.

Ottawa has previously accused India of foreign interference. But in March, Canadian Police Commissioner Mike Duheme told CTV News that there were no longer any clandestine activities or transnational repression in the country linked to the Indian government.

Meanwhile, in July, the authorities in the United States charged gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar for organised crimes and ordering the killing of Nijjar.

They were among the 37 defendants charged for transnational organised crimes in three indictments unsealed in the US on July 7.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

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