India on Sunday night categorically dismissed a media report as "false" and "entirely concocted," refuting the existence of a purported "secret memo" allegedly issued by New Delhi in April to implement "concrete" actions against specific Sikh separatists, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, labeled the report as part of an ongoing disinformation campaign against India. He pointed out that the outlet behind the report has a track record of disseminating "fake narratives" influenced by Pakistani intelligence.
The report in question originated from The Intercept, an online American media outlet. Bagchi emphasized the lack of credibility in such reports, stating unequivocally, "We strongly assert that such reports are fake and completely fabricated. There is no such memo."
He underscored the outlet's association with promoting misleading narratives linked to Pakistani intelligence and cautioned against amplifying such misinformation, highlighting the potential damage to one's credibility.
This denial comes in the wake of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's September accusation, suggesting a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil in June. India vehemently rejected these allegations as "absurd."
The Intercept's report asserted that the Indian government had initiated a "crackdown scheme" against specific Sikh entities in Western countries. Allegedly, a secret memorandum issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in April listed various "Sikh dissidents under investigation by India's intelligence agencies, including the Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar."
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