Canadian Embassy in Delhi says IB involved in terrorism

NEW DELHI, May 26 : Canadian High Commission in the Indian Capital denied visa to a senior IB officer but granted it later after the home ministry took a tough stand warning that Canadian citizens wanting to go to Afghanistan from India may face similar problems.

The High Commission told the officer, that the IB is involved in terrorism and also snoops around.

The incident comes close on the heels of the Canadian mission triggering a row by refusing visa to a retired BSF constable citing his association with a "notoriously violent" force which indulges in "systematic attack" and "systematic torture" of suspected criminals.

The latest incident, said highly-placed government sources, involved a deputy director of Intelligence Bureau who was to visit Canada ahead of the trip of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in later part of June for the G20 summit.

The officer was denied a visa reportedly on the ground of his association with a spy agency and issued an emergency certificate instead, prompting the home ministry to write a letter to the external affairs ministry voicing its concerns on the issue, the sources said.

The MEA in turn summoned the Canadian High Commissioner to India and took up the matter with him, they said.

The Canadian authorities were conveyed about the "discriminatory" attitude towards the Indian security agencies and told firmly that its nationals, working in war-ravaged Afghanistan , may also face similar problems if such discrimination did not come to an end, the sources said.

The IB officer was later given a visa after the Canadian High Commissioner took up the matter with his country, the sources added.

Canada had earlier denied visa to retired BSF jawan Fateh Singh Pandher.

An Indian channel said that Canadian High Commission also rejected the visa applications of retired Army officer Lt. General A S Bahiya and his wife because he had served in Jammu and Kashmir .