Banned Khalistani Group Threatens to ‘Siege’ Indian Consulate in Vancouver on September 18

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a proscribed Khalistani outfit, has threatened to lay a “siege” of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on September 18, urging Indo-Canadians to avoid visiting the mission that day.

In a viral notice, SFJ accused Indian consulates of running “spy networks” against pro-Khalistan campaigners and linked its threat to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2023 allegation that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The group announced a 12-hour blockade beginning 8 a.m. Thursday.

The notice also carried a poster targeting India’s incoming High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, branding him the “new face of Hindutva terror.” SFJ further claimed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police offered witness protection to one of its coordinators, Inderjeet Gosal, who was arrested last year for a violent attack on a Hindu temple in the Toronto area.

The threat comes as India and Canada cautiously attempt to repair strained ties. Diplomatic relations plunged after Trudeau’s 2023 allegations, which India dismissed as “absurd.” Both countries recently named new high commissioners — Dinesh K. Patnaik for India in Ottawa and Christopher Cooter for Canada in New Delhi.