Nijjar used fake passport to flee India, became Canadian after marriage

Slain Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who is at the centre of the ongoing tensions between India and Canada, had fled India in February 1997 using the name ‘Ravi Sharma’ on a fake passport.

On reaching Canada, he filed for asylum claiming to be a victim of police harassment in India. Nijjar married a Canadian woman and secured citizenship of the country.

Several terror incidents, including targeted killings in Punjab, were allegedly carried out by him. His name figured on the most-wanted list handed over by then-Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in February 2018.

In April 2018, Nijjar, was briefly taken into custody in Canada but released without charge. A few months later, Nijjar was elected to head Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

He was declared an “individual terrorist” in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2020.

Also watch: Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing: a brief history of Khalistani separatism in Canada