B.C. Sikh activist says police warned him of 'imminent' threat to life

A few dozen protesters gathered outside the Indian consulate in downtown Vancouver to mark two years since the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., allegedly at the behest of the Indian government. (June 18, 2025).

SURREY — An associate of slain B.C. Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says police have alerted him of an “imminent” threat to his life.

Narinder Singh Randhawa says in a sworn statement sent to The Canadian Press that he was first contacted by Surrey Police last Saturday, with an officer issuing the “duty to warn” notice over the phone.

The Surrey, B.C., resident has been an organizer of rallies for the pro-Khalistan movement — which seeks the formation of an independent Sikh state within India — since at least 2023.

Nijjar, a leader in the pro-Khalistan movement, was gunned down in Surrey outside his Sikh gurdwara that year, in a case Canadian authorities have linked to Indian agents, which India denies.

Surrey Police say in an email they cannot confirm issuing a “duty to warn” notice, even if the potential target discloses the information publicly.

In his statement, Randhawa says he received two calls from Surrey police, including one where an officer told him his “activism and participation in protests” could be the reason for the unspecified threat to his life.

Randhawa says he believes his role in the rallies, including several outside the Indian consulate office in Vancouver, played a role in the threats.

“Let it be clear — threats to my life will not stop me,” he said in a text message. “I will continue the campaign, stronger and louder.”

Randhawa’s statement says police called him on Saturday afternoon to tell him to meet officers in person who would issue him the “duty to warn.”

He says that when he told them he would be able to see them at 8 p.m., he was told “the threat to my life was imminent, police could not wait till the evening,” so the notice was issued verbally over the phone.

He says that in a second call on Monday, police did not provide specifics of the threats against him or who made it, only that there was “information regarding the threat from multiple law enforcement agencies, including RCMP.”

Nijjar’s killing triggered a diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons that there was credible intelligence linking India’s government to the June 18 shooting death.

Relations have improved under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earlier this year refused to say whether he believes India is still behind acts of foreign interference and transnational repression in Canada.

Carney visited India from late February to early March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.