The alleged gang role in India's intelligence operations is highlighted by the arrests in Canada

The alleged gang role in India's intelligence operations is highlighted by the arrests in Canada

The Research and Analysis Wing, India's foreign intelligence agency, has long been charged of using criminal networks to conduct operations throughout South Asia. Does the agency now carry out comparable tasks in the West?

Following months of accusations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India's government was planning a killing on Canadian soil, which caused diplomatic ties between the two nations to reach an all-time low, the first arrests in the killing, which occurred on Friday, did little to clarify the substance of his report.

The Sikh nationalist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June at the temple he oversaw in Surrey, British Columbia, and the police offered no hints or proof that India had planned his killing. They did, however, clarify that the killing was carried out by three Indian individuals and that India's involvement in the incident was still being looked into.

Indian authorities had said, prior to the arrests, that Canada was attempting to entangle New Delhi in what it characterized as basically a feud between gangs, some of which had long been sought for crimes in their own country.

Following the arrests, the Canadian public broadcaster CBC reported—citing unnamed sources—that the men were members of an Indian crime gang.

However, pundits and former government officials noted that the possibility of a gang's involvement in the killing did not rule out the Indian government's involvement in the crime.

Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's foreign intelligence agency, has long been accused of using criminal networks to carry out covert operations in its near vicinity in South Asia.

Analysts speculated that RAW may be expanding its strategy of collaborating with criminals to carry out operations in Western nations in light of Canada's and the United States' subsequent accusations that India planned the Nijjar massacre, if verified.

In support of their claim that an agent of the Indian government took part in an abortive effort to kill a dual Canadian-American citizen, U.S. authorities have presented substantial evidence. Furthermore, officials from Canada and its allies have insisted that Canada had proof to back up Mr. Trudeau's assertion that Mr. Nijjar was killed by Indian operatives.

However, nine months after Mr. Trudeau's startling statement, the Canadian government has failed to provide any proof that India was involved, observers said, leaving the assassination of Mr. Nijjar in the domain of allegations and counter-accusations in a very sensitive political context in both nations.

In his current campaign for a third term in power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been flexing his muscles as a strongman of the nationalist movement, portraying himself as India's defender who would stop at nothing to neutralize security concerns.

He has braggingly claimed in speeches that his government kills adversaries by "descending in their homes." Even though he made such remarks in regard to Pakistan, the nation's worst rival, right-wing social media accounts praised Mr. Nijjar's death in Canada as an example of Mr. Modi's long arm at work.

However, getting ahead of the Nijjar death was seen as Mr. Trudeau's way of making up for his perceived weakness in the face of Chinese political meddling actions on Canadian territory.

The three Indian males were detained in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, according to a statement released by Canadian police. They were accused with first-degree killing and conspiracy to commit killing in connection with the death of Mr. Nijjar. According to the authorities, the suspects had lived in Canada for three to five years, but they weren't citizens of the country permanently.

Lawrence Bishnoi, 31, is the leader of the group that the CBC said the hitmen are associated with. He is charged with many counts of killing, extortion, and drug trafficking. Most of it has been planned out from an Indian prison, where he has been detained since 2014. His members are suspected to being responsible for threats of violence against Bollywood celebrities as well as the death of a well-known Punjabi rapper.

Indian security forces have regularly detained criminals associated with Mr. Bishnoi, frequently on the grounds that the gang's network extended to Canada and overlapped with individuals advocating for Khalistan, a once violent separatist movement aimed at dividing the Indian state of Punjab into an independent nation.

There is a sizable Sikh diaspora in Canada; many of them emigrated there in the wake of the Indian government's brutal and sometimes indiscriminate assault on the drive for an independent Khalistan in the 1980s. Even though the cause is no longer as popular inside India, certain expatriate groups still support it. Canada and a number of other Western nations have been accused by the Indian government of not doing enough to suppress the separatists.

According to analysts and former security officials, RAW has a history of recruiting killingers by venturing into shadowy areas inside India's near neighborhood. Ajit Doval, the legendary former spymaster who is currently Mr. Modi's longstanding national security adviser, and other senior officials have previously been accused of scavenging the criminal underworld for hit men ready to pursue targets both domestically and overseas.

From behind bars, Mr. Bishnoi has shown great strength. He even pitched himself as a nationalist fighter rather than a mastermind of crime during a televised appearance last year. According to a former security officer, this indicated that he was attempting to identify himself with nationalism in order to maybe strike a deal.

In the interview, Mr. Bishnoi said, "I am a nationalist." "I oppose Khalistan." I oppose Pakistan.

Security expert Ajai Sahni, who oversees the South Asia Terrorism Portal in New Delhi, said that it "happens all over the world" for intelligence organizations to use criminal gangs as a cover for activities.

"It is quite feasible for organizations such as RAW to exploit gang rivalries as a means of concealing their own undercover agents," Mr. Sahni said. "However, just because that is typically how things are done, doesn't mean we know this is precisely how Nijjar was killed."

Some of the shoddy characteristics of an agency attempting to adapt an outdated playbook into a new and unfamiliar setting might be seen in the failed plan on American soil.

Evidence, including electronic correspondence and financial transactions between the hired assassin—who later proved to be an undercover police officer—a haughty intermediary, and an Indian intelligence handler—whom The Washington Post has named as Vikram Yadav—was presented in a November U.S. indictment.

Concern was expressed by the Indian government's reaction, which pledged cooperation with the US while announcing an inquiry and stating that the move was not official policy.

The situation in Canada is quite different. Even when allied authorities claimed in September that Canadian officials had discovered a "smoking gun"—intercepted communications of Indian diplomats in Canada showing complicity in the plot—the nation has not made any proof supporting Mr. Trudeau's assertion publicly available.

With an aggressive response to Mr. Trudeau's assertions, Indian authorities seemed to be either assured of their abilities to deny involvement or that they weren't participating at all.

The Indian government acted decisively, expelling Canadian ambassadors and releasing a list of people it said were long-term targets of what it called a "terror and crime network" that was located on Canadian territory.

Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's speech at a Sikh festival in Toronto last week, during which nationalist chanting were audible, the Indian foreign ministry officially filed a protest.Give credit...By way of Associated Press, Cole Burston/The Canadian Press

Government representatives for Mr. Modi last week seized onto moments from an event that Mr. Trudeau had attended to claim that his allegations were made just to curry favor with the Sikh vote bank. They showed footage from a gathering where Mr. Trudeau was the featured speaker and there were shouts of "long live Khalistan." In his address, Mr. Trudeau pledged his unwavering support for "defending your community against hatred and standing up for your rights and freedoms."

The second-highest ranking diplomat from Canada was called to New Delhi by the Indian foreign ministry to file a protest after the speech.

At a press conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "His remarks to us illustrates once again the kind of political landscape that has been given in Canada to separatists, extremists, and people who practice violence."