Title : Man convicted of attempted murder in B.C. invited to reception with Trudeau in India
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Man convicted of attempted murder in B.C. invited to reception with Trudeau in India
Jaspal Atwal, a convicted former member of an illegal Sikh separatist group, was invited to dine with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a formal event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner Thursday in Delhi.
The invitation, which was extended by Canada's High Commissioner to India, was rescinded after CBC News asked the Prime Minister's Office about it Wednesday.
"I can confirm that the High Commission is in the process of rescinding Mr. Atwal's invitation," said PMO spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro in an email to CBC News.
As the story made headlines in the Indian media, the Prime Minister's Office issued an updated statement.
"This individual should never have been invited to any event on the program, and his invitation has been rescinded. We are in the process of looking into how this occurred," the statement read.
"That said, it's important to be clear that this individual is not part of the official delegation to the PM's visit to India, nor was he invited by the Prime Minister's Office. As is the case with international trips, individuals sometimes travel on their own to the location of the visit."
CBC News has confirmed that Surrey Centre MP Randeep Sarai submitted Atwal's name to the High Commissioner to be added to the guest list for the dinner-reception. The Vancouver-born Sarai is one of 14 MPs travelling with Trudeau on his official visit.
Atwal has already attended at least one event tied to the Trudeau visit.
Justin Trudeau's Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi pictured with Jaspal Atwal in Mumbai Feb. 20. (Name withheld upon request)
Photos obtained by CBC News show Atwal posing for pictures with Trudeau's wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi at an event with the Indian film industry in Mumbai on Tuesday.
His appearance at an official tour event could prove highly embarrassing for Trudeau, who has been at pains during his Indian trip to assure his hosts that Canada supports a united India and rejects violent extremism.
Group once declared a terrorist organization
Atwal, who did not travel to India with the Trudeaus' entourage, was convicted of the attempted murder of an Indian cabinet minister, Malkiat Singh Sidhu, on Vancouver Island in 1986.
At the time, he was a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation, banned as a terrorist group in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and India.
He's also been convicted in an automobile fraud case and was charged, but not convicted, in a 1985 near-fatal attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, an opponent of the Sikh separatist movement who later became premier of British Columbia.
Trudeau arrived in Mumbai Monday evening and stayed for a number of meetings on Tuesday before travelling to Amritsar and Delhi.
On Wednesday in Delhi, Trudeau firmly insisted that he rejects Sikh extremism.
The International Sikh Youth Federation was declared a terrorist organization by the Canadian government in the early 1980s.
Ujjal Dosanjh talks about being attacked in 19851:50
Atwal was one of four men who ambushed and shot at Sidhu's car on a rural road on Vancouver Island in 1986, badly wounding him.
More recently, the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia won a $28,000 judgment against Atwal over a stolen car ring involving Atwal's son, Vik, and dozens of others.
Atwal has denied any involvement in the attack on Dosanjh, but admits his role in the attempt to assassinate Sidhu.
The Prime Minister's Office said it would not comment on security matters.
Trudeau has been under pressure throughout his India tour to answer Indian concerns about Sikh separatism in Canada. Today, he was asked about the public display of "martyr" posters honouring Talwinder Parmar, the leader of the 1985 Air India bomb plot, which took 331 lives.
"I do not think we should ever be glorifying mass-murderers," Trudeau said, "and I'm happy to condemn that."
A provincial Liberal staffer in B.C. resigned after giving Atwal a ticket to attend the delivery of the provincial budget in 2012.
A photograph of Jaspal Atwal's invitation to attend a dinner at Canada's High Commission for Canada to India. (Name withheld upon request)
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