A key aide of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Inderjit Singh Gosal was arrested over firearms-related charges amid renewed India-Canada security cooperation.
Ottawa
Canadian authorities have arrested Khalistani operative Inderjit Singh Gosal, a key aide of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in connection with firearms-related charges. Gosal, 36, became a principal organiser for the US-based Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in Canada following the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.
This marks Gosal’s second arrest within a year. In November 2024, he was detained over a violent attack on Hindu worshippers at a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) temple but was granted conditional release by Peel Regional Police. Gosal has also acted as Pannun’s personal security officer and is considered his right-hand man in SFJ activities. Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen from Punjab, was designated an “individual terrorist” by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs in 2020, a year after SFJ was declared a terrorist organisation. Over 100 cases have been filed against SFJ and Pannun, with around 60 in Punjab.
The arrest comes shortly after India and Canada agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in counterterrorism and transnational crime. Diplomatic ties have recently been normalized with the reappointment of high commissioners to Ottawa and New Delhi. This step is seen as a departure from Canada’s earlier permissive stance toward separatist groups. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Canadian counterpart Nathalie Drouin held discussions in New Delhi to strengthen cooperation, following strained relations after allegations of India’s involvement in Nijjar’s killing in 2023.
