Many supporters of Khalistan in Canada, but they do not represent Sikh Community: Canada PM Trudeau
Ottawa, Nov 9: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the presence of Khalistan supporters in Canada but said they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole.
His comments came during Diwali celebrations at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill recently amid an ongoing diplomatic row with India over the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“There are many supporters of Khalistan in Canada, but they do not represent the Sikh Community as a whole. Similarly, there are supporters of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians,” Trudeau said.
The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's killing.
New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".
India expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its high commissioner Sanjay Verma and other "targeted" officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's charges.
India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.
Last week, Khalistani supporters disrupted a consular event co-organised by the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton and the Indian Consulate.
The incident was condemned by Trudeau who said every Canadian has the right to practise their faith freely and safely.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi remains "deeply concerned" about the safety and security of Indian nationals in Canada.
The Indian consulate in Toronto said it was scrapping some of the planned consular events this month because of Canadian “security agencies conveying their inability to provide minimum security protection” to organisers.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
