Canada has expelled India’s intelligence chief in Ottawa after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India’s government of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader near Vancouver last June.
On Monday, Trudeau urged the Indian government in the “strongest possible terms” to cooperate in clearing up the matter after informing an emergency session of the parliamentary opposition that his government has “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to the slaying of an exiled Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June in British Columbia.
The Prime Minister added: “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“The involvement of any foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.”
Nijjar, who has been declared a wanted terrorist by India, was gunned down on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver that is home to a major Sikh community.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) had offered a cash reward of ₹10 lakh ($12,000) on Nijjar in connection with the killing of a Hindu priest in the city of Jalandhar.
In a release, NIA said: “Hardeep Singh Nijjar is wanted by the National Investigation Agency in the case of a conspiracy hatched by Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), operating under Nijjar, to kill a Hindu priest at Jalandhar.”
Canada-India relations strained
Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Jolie, confirmed immediate action had been taken, and added: “Today, we have expelled a senior Indian diplomat from Canada.” Without naming the official, she said he is the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency, in Canada.
Nijjar’s Khalistan Tiger Force advocated for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. The group is believed to behind several violent attacks in India. New Delhi has accused Canada of turning a blind eye to the activities of various pro-Khalistan groups in their country.
Trudeau was in India recently for the G20 summit and is reported to have had a tense discussion with Narendra Modi, his Indian counterpart. In their meeting, Modi had expressed “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada”.
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