Indian police have alerted the RCMP to track a Canadian they allege is a key player in a terror plot that was to have involved transporting heavy ammunition by paraglider over the Pakistan-Indian border.
The plan was to be activated last February but was stopped with the arrest of one India’s most wanted men, Jagtar Singh Tara in Thailand, a few weeks earlier. 
Tara, described as a Khalistani terrorist with strong links to Canada, is accused of assassinating former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995.
The Canadian being tracked was identified as Harpreet Nijjar, a Canada-based Khalistani, fighting for an independent Punjab.
Releasing details of the spectacular plot, Indian police said that Tara planned to use a paraglider to dump heavy ammunition on the banks of the Ravi river, near the town of Gurdaspur, Punjab.
The flight was to take off from Narowal, a city in Pakistan about 5km from the Indian border.
According to a police report on the affair, Nijjar was to "especially come from Canada to Punjab" to retrieve the dumped ammunition.
"Nijjar was to only follow the satellite coordinates to collect the ammunition and hand it over to Fedayeen attackers from Kashmir," the police report said.
The plot was hatched between March and September 2014, with Khalistani supporters in Punjab reconnoitering the flight route and landing locations.
Indian police that the body of the paraglider was made of synthetic material and had excellent features to defeat Indian ground radars. 
"Hence, it would not be detected during its flight, with a maximum radius up to 5km to and from over the border," the report said.
As per the plan, a Kashmiri group would launch attacks with the military hardware to India. They would then return to Pakistan," the report has said.
The report also said that Nijjar from Canada had been frequenting Pakistan to meet several Khalistani leaders and Pakistani spy officials from ISI. 
Senior Punjab Police officials told Indian media said they have already alerted the Canadian government on Nijjar's activities and his movements are being tracked.
The report did not mention who was to fly the paraglider or whether anyone was trained for it.
The unveiling of the plot comes as Pakistan's military accused India's main intelligence agency of whipping up terrorism in Pakistan fuelling increased tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Pakistan believes India is supporting separatists in its resource-rich Baluchistan province, as well as militants fighting the state. It also sees India as fuelling strife in the volatile city of Karachi.
India denies interference in Pakistan but accuses Pakistan of supporting militants who launch attacks in India and fight in Indian Kashmir. India has also accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies those accusations.
Central agencies in India last month raised concerns with their Canadian counterparts about the anti-India activities of some pro-Khalistan extremist groups and individuals operating in Canada at the behest of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI or the Inter Services Intelligence.
The Daily Mail reported last month, that ISI is using Sikh militants who are taking refuge in Pakistan to gather political support from their community in Canada with a view to reviving the Khalistan movement. 
An intelligence report accessed by Mail Today on the activities of groups in Canada engaged in pro-Khalistani activities, says that the ISI is using Sikh extremists for anti-India activities. 
“Inputs indicate that Pakistan’s ISI is using Sikh extremists based in Canada for pro-Khalistan and anti-India activities,” the report says. 
Apart from ISI activities, “political lobbying” by Sikh groups is also a major concern for Indian intelligence agencies. 
“The Sikhs have a strong influence on Canadian politics due to their large population,” the report said while adding that prominent Canadian leaders have been taking part in events organised by groups sympathising with the cause for the Khalistan movement. 
The issue of Sikh extremism and activities of sympathisers in Canada was taken up at a recent meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on terrorism between India and Pakistan held in Delhi on March 19, 2015. 
The report was prepared ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada from April 14 to 16. 
Stating an instance of the ISI backing the cause of some of the extremists groups in Canada, the report says that an associate of Jagtar Singh Tara who was deported from Thailand in December 2014 travelled to Pakistan to plan Tara’s escape from Thailand with the help of the ISI. 
Tara, a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militant, had assassinated Punjab’s former chief minister Beant Singh. It’s not just Sikh sympathisers in Canada but the report says that Sikh militants taking refuge in Pakistan are helping the ISI in its efforts to revive Sikh militancy.
Pakistan-based chief of BKI along with Ranjit Singh Neeta, the Pakistan-based chief of Khalistan Zindabad Force have set up a network in Canada. 
The report names individuals who are working closely with the ISI and Sikh militants based in Pakistan, including a Sikh politician in Canada. 
The report further says that funds are being collected for such activities through donation boxes in gurdwaras – openly seeking financial help for a separate homeland for Sikhs, assistance to families of militants, legal help for undertrials and convicted Sikh militants in India and publication of pro-Khalistani material. 
Newspapers and Punjabi radio stations are used to spread the anti-India propaganda. 
“This not only makes an impact among the Sikh population in Canada but could potentially radicalise young Sikh minds in that country and other parts of the world,” says the report. 
It adds “These radical groups organise events on India’s Independence Day and Republic Day, to create an anti-India propaganda. 
"The report has listed the recent activities of extremist groups who have carried out demonstrations and also ‘glorified Sikh terrorists’ and there have been instances when the Indian flag has been burnt.” 
Meanwhile, the US based human rights group “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ) whose Facebook page has been blocked by the Indian government has given a call to the Sikh diaspora in North America to boycott Air India. The national airline of the India operates several flights every day to various destinations in North America.
SFJ claims that it called for boycott of Air India to highlight the dictatorial action of Modi Government to block the democratic campaign of SFJ to hold referendum in the state of Punjab.
To adversely affect the usage of Air India by the Sikh community, on May 12, SFJ launched an online campaign “Say NO Air India, YES to Punjab Independence Referendum”. The campaign urges the community to denounce blocking of SFJ’s Facebook Page; declare that Sikhs have a right to hold Punjab Independence Referendum and pledge not to travel by Air India.
The Sikh rights group plans to reach out to every Sikh household in North America through social media and local Gurdwaras. SFJ volunteers will be setting up “No To Air India” camps at Gurdwaras urging the community to sign the pledge boycotting India’s national airline during the upcoming busy travel season.
SFJ has given a call to hold a referendum in the year 2020 on the question of Sikh sovereignty. Referendum 2020 will be held in the state of Punjab and among Sikh diaspora living in America, Canada, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Middle Eastern Countries.