Canada has expelled six top Indian diplomats in connection with the assassination of a Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia last year.
The decision was made as part of an escalating dispute between the two countries over the killing and allegations of other criminal activities linked to Indian government agents.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the expulsion, saying Canada would not tolerate foreign governments threatening or killing Canadian citizens on its soil. He added that Indian diplomats had been collecting information about Canadians and passing it on to organised crime groups to target them.
“India has made a monumental mistake,” Trudeau declared.
India has dismissed these allegations as “absurd” and, in response, expelled six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner, and recalled its envoy from Canada.
The tensions began last year when Trudeau first claimed there were credible links between the Indian government and Nijjar’s assassination.
Canada’s Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly, confirmed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had gathered significant evidence identifying six individuals as connected to the case. She urged India to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and vocal supporter of an independent Sikh homeland, was killed in June 2023 after leaving a Sikh temple in Surrey.
India had labelled him a terrorist in 2020 and was seeking his arrest at the time of his death. Indian officials had accused him of being involved in an attack on a Hindu priest.
The RCMP stated that their investigation has uncovered broader criminal activities involving Indian agents, leading to credible threats against members of the South Asian community in Canada, especially those supporting the pro-Khalistan movement.
Relations between Canada and India have deteriorated further, with both countries now involved in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and ongoing accusations over extremism and separatism.
The situation remains tense, with calls for further investigations into the involvement of Indian government agents in these incidents.