Indian man seeks asylum in Canada, claims 'murder framing' in Haryana; 200 others told the same story

Parwinder Singh, an Indian man seeking refugee status in Canada told the authorities that he was being framed by the police for his friend's murder in Haryana. The authorities noted that 200 other also narrated a strikingly similar story as they all have the same immigration consultant, Deepak Pawar. But Parwinder Singh's latest plea for refugee status was not rejected, as the judge noted that refugee claims are not a novel-writing contest and therefore there is no requirement for originality.

Singh's case has been sent for review, the National Post reported.

“Asylum narratives are not exercises in creative writing, and a lack of prosaic originality should not be confused for falsehood, fraud, or the deliberate plagiarism of another person’s story. In this case, the RAD put form over substance in its analysis of Mr Singh’s narrative. Its conclusion that the narrative was not genuine is therefore unreasonable," Justice Guy Régimbald wrote in a recent decision out of Ottawa.

RAD is Canada's Refugee Appeal Division.

Lawyers representing RAD said they found Singh's story to be fraudulent as individuals who traveled to Canada with him also had the same story.

What is Parwinder Singh's story?

According to the report, Parwinder Singh left India in 2019 when he was a 16-year-old boy. One day when he was walking home from school with a group of friends, they were accosted by another group who had knives. A brawl breaks out, Singh fled the spot, but one of the boys was stabbed and killed. "The group allegedly responsible for his death includes the nephew of a well-known politician," the report said adding that police visited his home and he was being framed for the murder. Police kept him in custody for three days, beat him up but released him after taking bribe. Before his release, Singh's fingerprints were taken and he was threatened to stay quiet.

He was again called to the police station, made to wait for hours and insulted and told ti return again in two weeks.

Then Singh's father decided to send him to Canada as staying in India did not seem safe. With the help of an immigration agent, Singh traveled to Canada falsely claiming to be participating in a Tae Kwon Do tournament.

Immigration ministry intervened in Singh's case in 2023 and called the story fake and 200 other claims, all from India, have the same story. Singh then said he supports Khalistan and hence fears persecution in India. RAD claimed this too was a fake story to stay in Canada.