Dasvand
Ottawa (June 30, 2025) – The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is deeply disturbed by the Government of India’s appointment of Parag Jain as the new head of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). Jain was posted to Canada from approximately 2016 to 2018 and was accused of activities targeting Sikhs in Canada. Jain’s appointment underscores India’s ongoing disregard for Canada’s concerns and its refusal to curb foreign interference or transnational repression.
Parag Jain is a 1989-batch Punjab-cadre Indian Police Service officer who has been implicated in serious human rights abuses in India and espionage operations in Canada. As Superintendent of Police in Patiala in 1993, Jain was named in the abduction and extrajudicial killing of 19-year-old Sukhdev Singh. The incident, involving torture and a secret cremation, is documented in Ensaaf’s Crimes Against Humanity database. Jain has never been held accountable.
Despite this troubling record, Jain was sent on secondment to Canada in 2015 as a “Counsellor (Community Affairs)” at India’s High Commission in Ottawa. While his official title related to community and consular affairs, investigations have revealed that Jain was running an undeclared intelligence operation targeting Sikh Canadians. According to reporting by The Bureau, Jain and Amar Jit Singh, coordinated networks that sought to infiltrate Sikh gurdwaras and organizations, surveil community members, and influence Canadian electoral ridings.
Jain’s promotion is not an isolated case. In 2023, Canada expelled Pavan Kumar Rai, RAW’s station chief in Canada, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly confirmed credible intelligence linking Indian agents to the killing of Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Rai was also an Indian Police officer on secondment to RAW.
WSO President Danish Singh said today,
“The appointment of Parag Jain, whose espionage activities targeted Sikhs in Canada until the end of his diplomatic posting in Ottawa in 2018, signals that India is doubling down on its campaign of transnational repression. This is not the behavior of a government interested in restoring diplomatic ties. It is a clear message that India remains committed to targeting Sikhs and will promote and protect those who carry out its foreign interference agenda.
Canada must also clarify how and why Indian police officers accused of extrajudicial murders can be appointed to Canada and what steps will be taken to ensure individuals with such backgrounds are never allowed to operate here again.
Prime Minister Carney cannot pretend that restoring relations with India is possible while Indian officials responsible for espionage and repression here are being elevated to the top of India’s intelligence services. There must be accountability.”
WSO and other partnering Sikh organizations have already called for:
- A public inquiry into India’s foreign interference and transnational repression in Canada;
- The immediate cancellation of all intelligence-sharing agreements between Canada and India;
- Ensuring India fully cooperates with Canadian authorities and ends its campaign against Sikh Canadians before restoration of diplomatic ties.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada is a non-profit national organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights of all individuals.