Will follow up on Arsh Dalla extradition, says MEA after Canada police arrested Nijjar aide

In response to media queries, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday, “We have seen media reports circulating since November 10 on the arrest in Canada of proclaimed offender Arsh Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, the de-facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force. Canadian print and visual media have widely reported on the arrest. We understand that the Ontario Court has listed the case for hearing.”

Arsh Dalla is a proclaimed offender in over 50 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and terrorist acts, including terror financing. In May 2022, a Red Corner Notice was issued against him. He was designated in India as an individual terrorist by the NIA in 2023. In July last year, the Government of India requested the Canadian government for his provisional arrest, which was declined.

A separate request was also sent to Canada under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to verify Dalla’s suspected residential address, his financial transactions to India, moveable/immovable properties, details of mobile numbers, etc – all of which were provided to Canadian authorities in January 2023.

“In December 2023, the Department of Justice of Canada sought additional information on the case. A reply to these queries was sent in March this year,” the MEA spokesperson said. He added that “in view of the recent arrest, our agencies will be following up on an extradition request”.

“Given Arsh Dalla’s criminal record in India and his involvement in similar illegal activities in Canada, it is expected that he will be extradited or deported to face justice in India,” he said.

Canadian police arrested Dalla for a shooting that took place in Milton town last month.

Dalla started off as a small-time gangster in Moga, Punjab, before fleeing to Canada in 2018. There, he came in contact with Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar and began collaborating with him. Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has described Dalla as a plumber in Surrey who frequented the Guru Nanak Darbar gurdwara, where Nijjar was the president.

An NIA chargesheet filed in July 2023 alleges that Dalla used his connections in Punjab to form a “terrorist gang”. “He, along with Nijjar, raised funds through extortion and targeted killings of businessmen and leaders from specific communities in Punjab,” states the chargesheet.

Sources within the agency, which has been issuing red corner notices against his gang members, had noted an ongoing conflict between Dalla and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This rivalry reportedly escalated in December 2023, as numerous Indian-origin business owners in Canada began reporting extortion calls and threats.

Originally from Dala village in Moga, he is also accused of conspiring with other gang members to fund the KTF’s terror activities through killings and extortion. Wire-transfer records and WhatsApp messages filed in the NIA court reveal that Dalla, along with his wife, transferred large sums of money to men allegedly involved in an extortion and weapons smuggling network.