As reported by CBC, the Indian government has blocked access within India to a YouTube-hosted Canadian investigative documentary on the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in British Columbia, Canada, in June of last year. The documentary suggests the alleged involvement of the Indian government in this killing.
Released by CBC’s investigative program “Fifth Estate,” the documentary examines the links between Nijjar’s death and an alleged murder-for-hire plot by the Indian authorities, as well as India’s recorded history of targeting Sikh Canadians. Despite a year having passed since Nijjar’s death, no arrests or suspects have been made public by Canadian law enforcement.
YouTube confirmed to CBC that they “had received an order from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block access to the video of the story from its website.” This effectively renders the content unviewable within Indian borders.
This action by the Indian government falls under its Information Technology Act 2000, specifically section 69, which sanctions the government to “intercept any information transmitted through any computer resource” if it is deemed to be in the interest of India’s sovereignty, integrity, or security.
The deceased, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was a notable Sikh activist in Canada, advocating for the formation of an independent Sikh country in India, known as Khalistan. He served as president of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, and was gunned down outside the temple by unidentified assailants.
Indian authorities have previously labeled some supporters of Khalistan as terrorists. The India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has accused Nijjar of being part of the militant Khalistan Tiger Force and had even posted a bounty for his capture. The NIA alleges that the Tiger Force was responsible for a bombing in Punjab in 2007.
Subsequent to Nijjar’s death in 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implied possible involvement of the Indian government in the killing before the House of Commons. However, the specifics of this alleged connection remain undisclosed. The Indian government has denied any association with Nijjar’s murder, but the incident has strained relations between India and Canada.