‘Fake’: India on report of ‘secret memo’ to consulates in US about Khalistani terrorist Nijjar

The government on Sunday rejected a media report that claimed that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sent a ‘secret memo’ to Indian embassies.

In North America, asking them to crack down on Khalistani terrorists, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In a statement, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi called the report “fake” and “completely fabricated” and slammed the media outlet for “propagating fake narratives peddled by Pakistani intelligence”. He said the report was part of a sustained disinformation campaign against India.

“We strongly assert that such reports are fake and completely fabricated. There is no such memo. This is part of a sustained disinformation campaign against India. The outlet in question is known for propagating fake narratives peddled by Pakistani intelligence. The posts of the authors confirm this linkage. Those who amplify such fake news only do so at the cost of their own credibility,” the MEA statement read.

According to the report by a US-based publication, a memo was allegedly sent by the MEA in April, instructing embassies in North America to take concrete measures against Nijjar, two months before he was killed in Canada’s Surrey.

The alleged memo had listed several Khalistani terrorists who were under investigation by India’s intelligence agencies.

The killing of Nijjar triggered a diplomatic spat between India and Canada in September when the latter’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alleged that “Indian government agents” were linked to the murder of the Khalistani terrorist.

India rejected Canada’s claims and asked the Trudeau government to present evidence to back its allegations.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force. He was shot dead outside a gurdwara by two unidentified gunmen in Surrey in Canada’s British Columbia Province.