Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar has allegedly claimed in a leaked audio recording that he was behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose assassination outside a gurdwara in Surrey in 2023 triggered a major diplomatic row between India and Canada.

Brar, who is wanted in India in connection with several killings, including that of singer Sidhu Moosewala, reportedly made the claim while speaking to Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Pamma. In the purported recording, Brar allegedly said Nijjar was targeted over his alleged role in encouraging drug-related activities among young people.

"Those who groomed and incited 16-to-17-year-olds to sell drugs... Those who blackmailed young people into selling drugs and becoming informants... Nijjar supported and strengthened these individuals so that he could use them when necessary," Brar allegedly told Pamma.

"That's why we, my team and I, had to kill Nijjar, because these people were using young people to sell drugs. Everyone has to face the consequences of their actions," he allegedly added.

Nijjar was shot dead by unidentified assailants in British Columbia, Canada, in 2023. Weeks after the killing, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India may have been involved in Nijjar's assassination, a charge New Delhi rejected.