Online video tells travellers not to fly Air India; poster denies message is a threat

The Canadian government and law enforcement agencies are remaining tight-lipped about a video circulating online telling travellers not to fly Air India after Nov. 19.

The video was posted by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an advocate for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan. 

Pannun, who lives in Washington, D.C., is listed as a terrorist in India due to his views.

Indian media have been reporting that Pannun’s video is threatening travellers, but CTV News spoke to Pannun, who firmly disputed that claim.

"This is a disinformation campaign being run … by the Indian agencies,” said Pannun, who described the video as a call “not to support (or) strengthen economically any Indian businesses.”

“There is no threat at all, there is no threat of violence,” Pannun said.

CTV News tried multiple times to reach the RCMP to ask if an investigation has been launched into the video, but did not hear back by deadline.

A spokesperson for the federal transportation minister said the government is investigating recent threats circulating online but could not comment further.

Pannun said he has not been contacted by authorities.

"I'm informing, and educating and making the global Sikh community aware, every dollar which you spend on (an) Indian business, whether it's here or in India, it is going to strengthen their economy, it is going to give them more power,” Pannun said.

Tensions between India and Canada have been high ever since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the fatal shooting of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar was the president of the Surrey gurdwara where he died, and a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement that advocates for a separate Sikh homeland in India's Punjab province.

With files from CTV National News’ Melanie Nagy