The son of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says his father was meeting regularly with Canadian intelligence officers in the months before he was shot dead in British Columbia, in a killing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says has been credibly linked to India.

Balraj Nijjar says in an interview that his father was meeting Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers 香蕉视频直播渙nce or twice a week,香蕉视频直播� including one or two days before the June 18 killing, with another meeting scheduled for two days after his death.

Balraj Nijjar says he also attended a meeting between his father and the RCMP last year in which they were told about threats to his father香蕉视频直播檚 life, and he was advised to 香蕉视频直播渟tay at home.香蕉视频直播�

Hardeep Nijjar 香蕉视频直播� a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement that advocates for a separate Sikh homeland in the Punjab 香蕉视频直播� was gunned down by two masked men in the parking lot of Surrey香蕉视频直播檚 Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where he was president.

Trudeau announced to Parliament on Monday that intelligence services were investigating 香蕉视频直播渃redible香蕉视频直播� information about 香蕉视频直播渁 potential link香蕉视频直播� between India香蕉视频直播檚 government and the killing.

India香蕉视频直播檚 government has denied the accusation as 香蕉视频直播渁bsurd and motivated.香蕉视频直播�

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-based spokesman for the group Sikhs for Justice and a close associate of Nijjar, says Nijjar had asked Canadian authorities whether he should wear a bulletproof vest in the weeks before he was gunned down.

The New York-based lawyer saysNijjar asked about the vest in April or May, and the agencies responded to the effect that they could not provide one.

Pannun says Nijjar had also told him a year earlier, around July 2022, that Canadian authoritieshad told him about a threat to his life.

He says they told Nijjar he shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 go to his gurdwara at his usual times and he should avoid being seen in public.

But Balraj Nijjar said neither he nor his father wanted to hide.

香蕉视频直播淲e weren香蕉视频直播檛 worried about safety because we weren香蕉视频直播檛 doing anything wrong. We were just using freedom of speech,香蕉视频直播� he said.

India had previously accused Hardeep Nijjar of terrorism and separatism. He was a key proponent of Sikh independence and had been helping organize an unofficial referendum on Sikh independence in India.

Pannun said he believed Nijjar chose to go about his daily life despite the warnings from Canadian authorities because his campaigning in Canada was peaceful.

香蕉视频直播淪ince the Khalistan referendum is a peaceful and a democratic process, and he is in Canada, where freedom of speech and expression is inherently a democratic, fundamental right,香蕉视频直播� he said.

A media officer for the RCMP in B.C. said a request for a response had been forwarded to RCMP national headquarters. CSIS did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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