A close associate of slain Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says he has also been warned that his life may be in danger.
Gurmeet Singh Toor issued a statement Wednesday through the organization Sikhs for Justice indicating that he was issued a “duty to warn” notice by Surrey police and the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team on Aug. 24.
A copy of the notice shared by SFJ indicates that Toor has been warned that his life is in peril, without providing specific details of the threat.
RCMP have not confirmed these details.
Toor says he believes going public about the apparent threats on his life will make him safer, adding that police have been called to his home several times since the duty to warn notice, after he spotted people taking photos of his house.
Speaking to CTV National News through a translator on Thursday, Toor said he asked for police protection and believes he will receive it.
He also repeated his call for the expulsion of Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, a call many in the B.C. Sikh community have made since Nijjar’s death.
Toor is a senior member of the management committee of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. Like Nijjar, he advocates for the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Toor believes the Indian government – which accuses the Khalistan movement of being linked to terrorism – is behind the threats on his life.
According to The Canadian Press, Toor believes two other members of the Sikh community in Surrey have also received “duty to warn” letters, but he declined to provide details.
In July, Toor joined members of the community, including Nijjar’s son, for a virtual meeting with then-public safety minister Marco Mendicino and two Liberal members of Parliament from Surrey to share their concerns about the possibility that the Indian government was involved in the killing, he said.
He said he has since attended three more meetings, including with the RCMP, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, led by the Mounties.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced almost two weeks ago that Canada has seen “credible allegations” that agents of the Indian government were behind the killing of Nijjar outside the Surrey gurdwara back in June.
With files from Kevin Gallagher of CTV National News and The Canadian Press
