OTTAWA — The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) has strongly refuted recent assertions by a senior federal government official claiming that India is no longer connected to violent crimes and transnational repression within Canadian borders.

A copy of the written release, which is available with the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN), highlights a stark contrast between the government’s recent narrative and the on-the-ground reality currently faced by the Sikh community across the country.

The controversial claim emerged anonymously during a briefing preceding Prime Minister Mark Carney’s scheduled trip to India. However, the WSO argues that this statement completely ignores ongoing threats and dangers. Just days ago, a prominent Vancouver-based Sikh activist received a renewed “duty to warn” from local police regarding a credible threat to his life. Alarmingly, for the first time, the warning explicitly extended to his wife and children. This marks the activist’s fourth such warning since 2022.

According to the WSO, over a dozen Sikh community members continue to live under the shadow of credible threats or official duties to warn. The organization notes that it remains aware of multiple incidents over the past six months involving the surveillance, harassment, and intimidation of individuals by agents of the Government of India.

“These are not historical concerns, they are ongoing dangers,” the WSO emphasized in the release.

The advocacy group recalled the explosive October 2024 disclosures by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which explicitly linked the Indian government to homicides, violent crimes, and extortions targeting Sikh activists in Canada. The RCMP also confirmed connections to the Bishnoi Gang, a known criminal and terrorist entity. Following the 2024 revelations, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats over ties to these criminal activities.

WSO President Danish Singh issued a strong condemnation of the anonymous official’s briefing, pushing back against the notion that the issue has been resolved.

“I can say with complete conviction that the claim made by this senior government official is utterly false. It does not align with what Sikh Canadians are experiencing on the ground and what we are seeing firsthand,” Singh stated.

Singh pointed to the recent shooting in Calgary, for which the Bishnoi Gang claimed responsibility just this week, as evidence of ongoing criminal operations. He criticized the Carney administration for allegedly failing to hold India accountable or establish meaningful safeguards to protect citizens from foreign interference.

“Nothing has been presented publicly to suggest that Indian criminal networks have been dismantled, that accountability has been secured, or that safeguards have been implemented to protect Canadian citizens. We can’t deny what we are seeing with our own eyes,” Singh remarked.

Concluding with a sharp rebuke of the government’s priorities ahead of the Prime Minister’s diplomatic visit, Singh added: “For this government, Canadian sovereignty, the rule of law, and even human lives appear to be secondary to economic interests. Trade cannot come at the cost of Canadian blood. Lies by this ‘government official’ are a new low.”

The WSO maintains that declaring the problem of transnational repression resolved “does not make it so,” urging the federal government to prioritize the safety and security of Sikh Canadians over economic trade missions.