Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there are “credible allegations” that agents of the Indian government were behind the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada.
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there are “credible allegations” that agents of the Indian government were behind the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was slain in June outside a temple in Surrey, British Columbia, raising tensions between Sikh separatists and the Indian government. Nijjar’s death sparked protests among supporters of the separatist movement, who alleged the Indian government was behind the killing.
“Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government,” Trudeau said Monday in the House of Commons in Ottawa. The prime minister said he raised his concerns “personally and directly” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting last week in New Delhi.
Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, said she has expelled the head of India’s intelligence agency in Canada from the country.
“In no uncertain terms, any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa — the equivalent of an embassy — didn’t immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment.
Trudeau’s speech highlights a souring relationship between the two nations. Last week, Canada postponed a trade mission to India, which had been planned for early October, after the prime minister’s contentious meeting with Modi in the Indian capital.
India has characterized a June protest outside its High Commission as an “attack” and its anti-terror agency is investigating. Modi’s office also publicly criticized Trudeau for allegedly tolerating “anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada.”
There have been longstanding allegations from Indian officials that Canada has been too comfortable with Sikh separatists who want an independent Punjab carved out of northwestern India.
John Kirton, director of the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto, said the frostiness was palpable between the Canadian and Indian delegations at the summit in New Delhi. The relationship between the two countries “is now at a very downward trough,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a very serious issue, but at this point it’s still in the realm of allegations.”
The World Sikh Organization said in a statement: “Canada must immediately identify and bring to justice those individuals who were involved in the targeted killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.”
(Adds detail on expulsion of diplomat in fourth paragraph, plus comments from World Sikh Organization and University of Toronto professor.)
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