As Canada probes Sikhs leader killing Muslims and Sikhs leaders called for more community protections

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Following the killing of a Sikh leader shot dead in England and the probes by Canadian government the leaders of Muslims and Sikhs called on more protections.

Aljazeera reported Sikh and Muslim leaders in Canada called on the government to do more to prevent potential threats against their communities.

This is while Ottawa announced a probe of possible links between India and the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in the country’s westernmost province.

World Sikh Organization of Canada board member Mukhbir Singh said this week’s revelations may “have shocked many Canadians”.

“But it was not a surprise to the Sikh community,” he said during a joint news conference in Ottawa with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) advocacy group.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament that Canada was investigating “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the June 18 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia.

India swiftly rejected the allegations as “absurd” and accused Canada of harbouring Sikh “terrorists and extremists”.

Nijjar, who was involved with groups seeking a sovereign Sikh state in India, had been designated as a “terrorist” by New Delhi, according to media reports.