In a significant development that marks a shift from the bitter diplomatic row of 2024, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme has said there is no current evidence linking the Government of India to clandestine activities or transnational repression on Canadian soil.Speaking in an exclusive interview to CTV News, Duheme said based on the information before him, there are no longer clandestine activities or transnational repression taking place in Canada that is linked to the Government of India.”In the files that we have that involve transnational repression, we’re not seeing any connection right now with any foreign entity, based on the criminal information, the investigations that we have presently,” he told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in the interview aired Sunday.The RCMP commissioner, however, was careful to add that in cases of transnational repression, it can sometimes be difficult to connect certain activities to a specific foreign entity.The remarks represent a sharp contrast to his position in October 2024, when Duheme had stated that the RCMP possessed strong evidence “not intelligence, but evidence” – that a campaign of violence and intimidation against the Sikh community in Canada went all the way to the “highest levels” of the Indian government, with Indian diplomats allegedly collecting information and funnelling it to criminal organisations to carry out acts of violence.Duheme clarified that his earlier 2024 remarks were based on “the criminal investigation at the time,” and that in the current files involving transnational repression, the dots could not be connected to any foreign government.On the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s shadow over Canadian crime, the RCMP commissioner said some individuals may be using the Bishnoi name as copycats, without necessarily having any direct operational link to the gang itself.The remark is significant given that the Bishnoi network has been repeatedly cited in connection with targeted killings and extortion threats in Canada in recent years.The development comes against the backdrop of a reset in Canada-India relations. Both countries named new high commissioners to each other last summer in a bid to restore ties. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited New Delhi earlier this month.