Border agency clears employee after Indian media reports link him with terrorism

A Canada Border Services Agency superintendent is speaking out after being targeted by the Indian government with allegations of murder and terrorism — allegations Canadian authorities say are not backed by any evidence.

While Sundeep "Sunny" Singh Sidhu has been reinstated in his post with the CBSA, his lawyers say the government of Canada should have defended him more vigorously from a foreign government accused of mounting a hostile disinformation campaign in this country.

Sidhu has worked for the CBSA for two decades. He told CBC News he does not wear a turban, is not particularly religious and has no connections to Sikh separatist politics.

Nevertheless, last month Sidhu found his name and image plastered across multiple Indian news outlets citing Indian government sources. The Hindustan Times, which supports the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described Sidhu as "a member of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), accused of promoting terrorist activities in Punjab."

The paper also claimed that Sidhu "allegedly had ties with Pakistan-based Khalistan terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode and other [Pakistani intelligence] operatives, reportedly playing a role in the 2020 assassination of Balwinder Singh Sandhu."

Many of the Indian media reports cite the country's National Investigation Agency as the source for their allegations against Sidhu.

"It's almost laughable," said Sidhu. "It's like the alphabet soup of criminal organizations. I have zero links to any of these organizations. I've never supported these organizations. I don't know any members in these organizations."

On October 1, 2023, a co-worker told Sidhu that he had been named in a YouTube video posted by a former Indian army major named Gaurav Arya.

Arya is a pro-Modi influencer who appears to be close to India's intelligence community.

In a video purporting to list India's enemies and fugitives living abroad, Arya identified Sidhu as a wanted terrorist involved in Sikh separatist militancy and shared his home address. The video remained on YouTube for several months but has since been removed.

"I reported these allegations to my employer," Sidhu told CBC News.

CBSA reassigned Sidhu away from his frontline job and launched an investigation. He said the agency brought in the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency to conduct two days of polygraph tests.

"I have been through a year-long investigation where they've talked to my family, they've talked to my coworkers, they've gone through my financial statements, they've gone through my bank statements, my telephone records," Sidhu said.

Last month, almost a year after that initial video, Sidhu became the focus of news stories in Indian newspapers and television. He was the target of an avalanche of threats on social media.