Sikh activists in B.C., Ontario warned by police of threat against life
Written by The Canadian Press on August 18, 2026
CALEDON — RCMP have issued “duty to warn” letters to at least two Canadian Sikh activists, telling them their lives are under threat for their involvement in trying to create an independent Sikh state in India.
Police have issued the notices to Inderjeet Singh Gosal of Caledon, Ont., and Manjinder Singh from Abbotsford, B.C., telling them there are credible, serious and imminent threats against their lives, although they couldn’t provide more details.
The documents, obtained by The Canadian Press, say that while there’s no threat against their family or friends, those people could be hurt during any attempt on their lives.
Gosal is the Canadian co-ordinator of non-binding referendums being held in Sikh communities around the world, asking if they want an independent Sikh state — known as Khalistan — within India.
The previous Canadian organizer, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was gunned down in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023 in a killing that has been linked to India-based organized crime groups.
Sikh activists have accused the government of India to be behind Nijjar’s death, an accusation that India has repeatedly denied.
The group organizing the Canadian referendums, Sikh’s for Justice, says a third organizer in B.C. received a verbal warning from Canadian police, although the RCMP have not confirmed issuing any of the warnings.
Gosal says he has received several of the warning since becoming the lead organizer and has also turned down witness protection by police.
“For me to stop doing what I’m doing, which is impossible, the threats are going to come,” Gosal says during an interview.
“I know what I signed up for … It wouldn’t abide by what I stand for, and running and hiding is not what I do.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.
The Canadian Press