New Delhi: In a major development jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has claimed responsibility for the recent killing of Canada-based gangster and Khalistan supporter Sukhdool Singh, also known as Sukha Duneke. Singh was allegedly killed during a clash between rival factions in Winnipeg, Canada, according to media reports.
Singh, a high-profile gangster from Punjab’s Moga district, fled to Canada in 2017 amidst suspicions of pro-Khalistan ties. Notably, despite facing seven criminal cases in India, Singh, alias Sukha Dunuke, managed to escape using forged documents to obtain a passport and police clearance certificate.
In a Facebook post, Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang claimed that Singh played a key role in the killings of gangsters Gurlal Brar and Vicky Middukhera.
Bishnoi, who is also a key accused in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, is currently behind bars in Ahmedabad on drug smuggling charges.
This comes in the midst of the ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, sparked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims of a connection between the assassination of a Khalistani terrorist and the Indian government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian government issued an advisory for Indian nationals and students residing in Canada. The advisory from the External Affairs Ministry urges Indian nationals to exercise “utmost caution.”
India-Canada Relations
Earlier, Indo-Canadian relations dipped after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged on Monday that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India. The allegations were rejected by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which dubbed them ‘absurd ‘and ‘motivated’.
Signalling a further souring of bilateral ties, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly then said that an Indian diplomat in the country had been expelled from Canada.
This was followed by a reciprocal move from India on Tuesday with the expulsion of a senior Canadian diplomat who was given five days to leave the country.