NIA to probe attacks on Indian High Commissions in Canada, US

The attacks on Indian High Commission in Canada and the US by the Khalistani elements will be investigated by the National Investigation Agency. Reportedly, there have been multiple cases of attacks and protests by Khalistani elements outside Indian High Commission in the two countries.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be investigating the recent attacks on Indian High Commission in Canada and the United States. The case of the "Khalistani elements," which the Delhi Police had previously reported in a FIR, has reportedly been moved to the NIA. In response to the March 2023 attacks in Canada and San Francisco (US), the Delhi Police Special Cell filed a report under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

During their demonstration, purported pro-Khalistan activists in the US allegedly threatened the Indian embassy and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian ambassador to the US. On March 20, an attack took place on the San Francisco Indian Consulate. During a rally outside the mission, a protester directly threatened the ambassador, saying that he may suffer the same fate as former Indian president Zail Singh did in 1994. 

Protests in London

On March 19, a group of demonstrators brandishing pro-Khalistani signs and waving separatist Khalistan flags seized a Tricolour atop the Indian High Commission in London. Videos of the incident showed several protesters carrying the yellow and black Khalistan flag and calling for radical Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh to be "freed". In the footage, one of the protesters is shown scaling a balcony and, amid applause from the other guys, removing the Indian flag from a pole in front of the high commission.

British police officers arrived on the spot and prevented the protestors from approaching the entrance of the Indian High Commission.

In addition to cyber crimes and human trafficking, the NIA Act was modified by the Centre in August 2019 to allow the agency to look into terrorist attacks against Indians and Indian interests overseas. Based on the MHA's directives, the Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Radicalization unit filed a First Information Report (FIR) and started its investigation.