Jaspal Atwal, at the centre of a controversy surrounding the prime minister’s trip to India “vehemently denies” threatening a B.C. radio host, according to his lawyer.
Jaspal Atwal allegedly made the threats outside a Punjabi radio station in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.
Court documents show Jaspal Atwal was charged last month with threatening Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal, host of a daily Punjabi-language talk show broadcast online by Media Waves Communications.
His lawyer, Marvin Stern, says Atwal denies threatening the radio host.
Stern said, “There was a conversation between the two of them in the parking lot of the radio station in question.”
“But there were no threats issued by Mr. Atwal whatsoever.”
The incident allegedly occurred on April 23. In information sworn two days later, Atwal was charged with uttering or conveying a threat to cause death or bodily harm to Dhaliwal.
The 62-year-old was released last month on $1,000 bail with conditions that include having no contact with any employees of Media Waves, a company that claims to broadcast to 300,000 South Asians in Canada.
Atwal must also have no contact with Dhaliwal or any members of his immediate family.
Atwal made headlines during Justin Trudeau’s February trip to India, when he showed up at an official event despite a previous conviction for trying to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister during a trip to Vancouver Island in 1986.
