Jaspal Atwal

Last updated
Jaspal Atwal
Born
Jaspal Singh Atwal

1955
Pharala, Punjab, India
OrganizationInternational Sikh Youth Federation
Known forKhalistan movement

Jaspal Singh Atwal (born 1955) is an Indo-Canadian businessman convicted of attempted murder for his role in the 1986 attempt to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu. [1] A Khalistani sympathizer and member of the now-banned militant group International Sikh Youth Federation, he was also involved in the 1985 attack of Ujjal Dosanjh, a strong opposer of the Khalistani movement who would later become the 33rd Premier of British Columbia. [1] In 2010, he was accused of being part of an automobile fraud case but was ruled out by the Supreme Court of Canada. [1] In February 2018, Atwal gained national attention when he was invited by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to a reception during a visit to India and would eventually have his invitation revoked the next day. That same year, he was arrested for issuing death threats to a local radio in British Columbia.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Background

Jaspal Atwal was originally from Pharala near Phagwara district in Punjab, India. [2] He left for Canada at a young age and claimed to study at British Columbia Institute of Technology. [3] He visited India once in the past few years, with a Facebook post of him visiting the Taj Mahal. [2] He is involved in construction business and is currently associated with Media Wave Communications, which runs a Surrey-based online radio station. [3] He was also involved in numerous liberal campaigns and was seen taking pictures with hockey star Wayne Gretzky and other liberal politicians such as Sukh Dhaliwal, Justin Trudeau, and Michael Ignatieff. [4]

Controversies

Assassination attempts

In 1985, Atwal was charged in an attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, a strong opposer of the Khalistan movement, but was later acquitted. [1] Dosanjh stated that Atwal attacked him with an iron bar over his opposition to Sikh extremism. [5] The attack left Dosanjh severely injured with 80 stitches and a broken hand. [5] Senior Punjab journalist Baljit Balli, who met Atwal during a radio talk show at Surrey, said that Atwal had claimed that he was not involved in any attack and that he was being wrongly charged. [2] Dosanjh would go on to be the 33rd Premier of British Columbia. [2] On 25 May 1986, Atwal was among four men involved in attempting to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu. [1] He was convicted for murder and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, where he served 5 years before being paroled. [4] At the time of the attempted assassination, Sidhu was visiting Vancouver for a wedding and was forced off an isolated road near Gold River when Atwal arrived. [6] Sidhu was struck twice and survived the shooting, however, he was assassinated in 1991 five years later at his home. [6] At the parole, Atwal admitted he was the shooter that day. [6]

Justin Trudeau visit to India

Atwal sparked controversy when he was invited by Justin Trudeau to a reception during a visit to India. [1] He was seen photographed with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi at an event in Mumbai and was invited to the event by Randeep Sarai. [1] Ujjal Dosanjh criticized Trudeau for inviting Atwal by stating "Do you have no shame?" and stated that the relations between Canada and India were rock bottom. [7] [4] Atwal's invitation was rescinded the next day and Trudeau stated that he should have never been invited. [8] [9] He was removed from India's travel blacklist several months ago, while the Indian government stated that he wasn't a security threat. [10] Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau of "wining and dining" with an attempted murderer in a Thursday tweet. [5] Atwal stated that he has a "friendly relationship" with Trudeau and that he "stayed away" from him to avoid embarrassment. [11] On 8 March 2018, he apologized for the "embarrassment" he caused when he attended the event and told reporters that he took full responsibility for his past actions. [12] A new committee of reporters and senators delivered its first classified report regarding the affair with 18 findings and 6 recommendations concerning allegations of foreign interference in Canadian political affairs. [13]

Death threats against a British Columbia host

On 25 April 2018, Atwal was arrested at his home and charged for making threats to a local British Columbia host. [14] According to documents, he faces charges for "uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm". [14] His lawyer Marvin Stern stated that he made threats outside a Punjabi radio station in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, British Columbia. [14] The day after his arrest, he made an appearance in provincial court, but was released without cash or surety. [14] He is expected to face trial on 7 June and appear at the Surrey Provincial Court to plead not guilty. [15] [16]

Involvement in Canadian politics

In 2012, Atwal was invited to a budget speech of 35th Premier of British Columbia Christy Clark as a guest. [2] In addition, he backed her leadership and was among supporters who accorded her a welcome in Surrey. [17] His presence in the legislature caused embarrassment and a complaint was made to the speaker. [17] Clark's reaction was similar to Wai Young when she received help from Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the Air India Flight 182 bombing. [17] Clark insisted that she didn't know who Atwal was, even though he was invited to her budget speech and shook her hand. [18] After the controversy, liberal party director Tariq Ghuman resigned. [2] Atwal was also a member of the Surrey Fleetwood-Port Kells Liberal riding association of the Federal Liberal Party. [19] In a 14 January 2013 post on Facebook, Atwal was seen in a photo with a young Justin Trudeau. [2] Atwal is a long-time supporter of the Liberal Party and a former donor to the federal gifts with deep ties to the party that pre-date Trudeau's tenure as prime minister. [20] Official records showed that he donated $500 to the Liberal Party on 9 April 2011. [20] In May 2015, the Toronto Sun obtained two photos of him with Trudeau, with one at a campaign event in Vancouver and another one outside a house or restraint. [20] He was also seen taking pictures with former liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and interim leader Bob Rae. [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalistan movement</span> Sikh separatist movement in the Punjab region

The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ujjal Dosanjh</span> Canadian politician (born 1947)

Ujjal Dev Dosanjh, is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011. He was minister of health from 2004 until 2006, when the party lost government. He then served in the Official Opposition from January 2006 until 2011. Dosanjh was one of four visible minorities to serve in Paul Martin's Ministry.

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Gurmant Singh Grewal is an Indo-Canadian politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, who represented Fleetwood—Port Kells from 2004 to 2015, were the first married couple to serve in the House of Commons of Canada at the same time. First elected to the Canadian House of Commons on June 2, 1997 for the riding of Surrey Central and re-elected there on November 27, 2000, he represented the riding of Newton—North Delta from 2004 until 2005. Grewal announced that he would not be running in the 2006 federal election over a dispute of alleged offer of patronage with the Liberal Party, which was governing at that time.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Sikh Youth Federation</span> Banned organization in India

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KVRI is a commercial radio station licensed to Blaine, Washington, United States, and serving Greater Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It airs a radio format of Bollywood music, news and talk in Hindi, Punjabi and other South Asian languages. It is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–India relations</span> Bilateral relations

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "What we know about Jaspal Atwal, the attempted murderer invited to dine with Trudeau". 22 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jaspal Singh Atwal: The "terrorist" who isn't actually on the radar of anti-terror agencies in India". 22 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Khalistan separatist Jaspal Atwal migrated to Canada at a young age". The Hindu. 22 February 2018 – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "India-Canada relations at 'rock bottom' after Trudeau invitation error, ex-Liberal cabinet minister says – The Star". Toronto Star . 22 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Carbert, Michelle (22 February 2018). "Former B.C. premier 'speechless' about invite to Sikh extremist Atwal". The Globe and Mail.
  6. 1 2 3 "Surrey man convicted in 1986 B.C. terrorist shooting poses with Trudeau's wife, cabinet minister in India". 22 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Former Liberal cabinet minister blasts Trudeau over attempted murderer's Delhi dinner invite – CBC Radio".
  8. ↑ "Trudeau cancels invite to Sikh separatist". BBC News. 22 February 2018.
  9. ↑ ANI (22 February 2018). "Khalistani terrorist Atwal should never have been invited: Justin Trudeau". Business Standard India– via Business Standard.
  10. ↑ "Convicted Sikh extremist had been removed from India's travel blacklist, Star told – The Star". Toronto Star . 22 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Jaspal Atwal says he stayed away from Trudeau event in India to avoid embarrassing PM – The Star". Toronto Star . 25 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "Jaspal Atwal apologizes for 'embarrassment' of his presence at Trudeau event in India – The Star". Toronto Star . 8 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "New security oversight committee delivers its Atwal affair report to Trudeau". 31 May 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Jang, Brent (13 May 2018). "Jaspal Atwal charged with uttering threats against B.C. radio host". The Globe and Mail.
  15. ↑ "Jaspal Atwal case: Date for trial to be set on June 7". 26 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Jaspal Atwal to plead not guilty to charges of threatening radio host in B.C."
  17. 1 2 3 "Gurpreet Singh: Jaspal Atwal episode reveals why Canadian political establishment should look hard at itself". 4 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Christy Clark insists she doesn't know attempted-murderer Jaspal Atwal". 5 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "Who is Jaspal Atwal? Here are 5 facts about the Khalistani Terrorist in stir over Justin Trudeau event invite". Archived from the original on 26 February 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 "MALCOLM: Would-be assassin has longtime ties to Liberals". 23 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Coyne, Andrew (23 February 2018). "Coyne: The novelty of L'affaire Atwal is only that they did it on Indian soil".
  22. ↑ Bolan, Kim (24 November 2001). "Gunman part of federal Surrey riding executive". Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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