TORONTO: A British Sikh, who had past links to Babbar Khalsa, has been ordered to be deported from Canada.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in an order on Friday said British national Gurmej Singh Gill was inadmissible in the country because of his past links to Babbar Khalsa (BK) – or Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) – which is a banned terror outfit in Canada.
In its order, the board cited that Gill joined Babbar Khalsa in 1978. He left the group in 1982 when he moved to Canada. The reason was his differences with Babbar Khalsa head in Canada Talwinder Singh Parmar (who was the mastermind of the Air India Kanishka bombing in 1985 and was killed by Punjab Police in 1992 after he returned to India).
Gill was flagged when he landed at Vancouver International Airport in November 2013 because of his past. He was allowed to stay on in Canada as the Immigration and Refuge Board took up his case.
Gill acquired permanent resident status in Canada in 1982 but surrendered it in 1984.
In the ruling, immigration board member Geoff Rempel said Gill is not admissible into Canada under the Immigrations and Refugee Protection Act.
Gill has maintained that he belonged to a splinter group that was not affiliated to Babbar Khalsa.
The Canadian immigration board order said, “It is difficult to believe that Mr. Gill could have been unaware of the terrorist activities perpetrated by the BK/BKI in the 1980s and early 1990s, yet he remained a prominent member of the organization for many years.’’
Source: Vancouver Sun