Canada arrests Inderjit Gosal — Pannun aide and Khalistani terrorist as it resets ties with India

Khalistani terrorist Inderjit Singh Gosal, a close aide of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been arrested in Canada. Gosal, who became a key organiser for US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) after the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was arrested in Ottawa on multiple firearms-related charges.

According to a report from News18, Officials are calling it the “first visible outcome” of a reset in India–Canada security cooperation. The move marks a sharp shift from Canada’s earlier permissive approach to separatist groups operating under the cover of free speech.

According to intelligence sources, the arrest followed sustained pressure from New Delhi, led by NSA Ajit Doval. Indian agencies had shared detailed dossiers with Ottawa, including financial trails and evidence linking Gosal to Pannun. These inputs, sources said, pushed Canadian authorities to act against extremist sleeper cells.

This is Gosal’s second arrest in less than a year. In November 2023, he was held over a violent incident at a Hindu temple in the Greater Toronto Area, where he allegedly attacked Hindu-Canadian worshippers, but was later released on conditions.

Officials said Gosal has been a principal organiser of the Khalistan referendum in Canada. Considered Pannun’s right-hand man, he also served as his personal security officer.

The breakthrough is linked to a recent meeting in New Delhi between NSA Ajit Doval and his Canadian counterpart Nathalie Drouin. Intelligence sources called it “a hard reset” in ties that had been strained since the fallout of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in 2023. Both countries also exchanged new ambassadors recently, signalling a push to move beyond the diplomatic standoff.

Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen from Punjab, was declared an “individual terrorist” by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2020, a year after his outfit SFJ was banned. Authorities have registered over 100 cases against Pannun and the SFJ, around 60 of them in Punjab alone.