Two Indian diplomats in Canada, Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma and Apoorva Srivastava, have been targeted in a poster circulated by Sikh radicals who have blamed them for having a role in the June killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The posters are going viral on social media. Verma is India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa while Srivastava is the Consul General in Toronto. The words ‘Faces of Shaheed Nijjar’s Killers in Toronto’ appear above the posters.
High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma entered into the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1988. He was stationed at the Commission of India, Hong Kong and at the Embassies of India in the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam and Turkey, before serving as the Consul General of India in Milan, Italy. He also served as the Indian Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan. Following his tenure in Sudan, High Commissioner Verma served as Joint Secretary (Global Estate Management) and later as Additional Secretary (Administration & Cyber Diplomacy) in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. Before arriving in Canada, he served as the Ambassador of India to Japan.
Apoorva Srivastava is a vocational diplomat, having coalesced the Indian Foreign Service in 2001. In her 21-year diplomatic career, she has served twice in the Indian Embassy in Paris and in the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. In the headquarters, she has served as Under Secretary (SAARC), Director (Administration) and Joint Secretary (External Affairs Minister’s office).
Consul General Ms. Srivastava holds a Masters in Psychology from Lucknow University. She speaks Hindi, English and French.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement came after Khalistani threat posters in Canada featuring names of Indian diplomats came in limelight. Jaishankar on Monday warned Canada against giving space to Khalistani elements. Jaishankar said India had raised the issue of Indian diplomats’ pictures in Khalistani posters with Canadian authorities.