NEW DELHI -- Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations its government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.
Trudeau said in Parliament on Monday that Canadian intelligence agencies have been looking into the allegations after Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland movement known as Khalistan, was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up the slaying with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit last week. He said he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the head of Indian intelligence in Canada has been expelled as a consequence.
"If proven true this would be a great violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic rule of how countries deal with each other," Joly said.
Today, India's foreign ministry released a statement dismissing the allegation as "absurd and motivated."
"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement noted, adding that India was concerned over the inaction of the Canadian government.
The expulsion comes as relations between Canada and India are tense. Trade talks have been derailed, and Canada just canceled a trade mission to India that was planned for the fall.
At the G20 meeting, Modi expressed "strong concerns" over Canada's handling of the Punjabi independence movement among the overseas Sikhs during a meeting with Trudeau at the G20 summit, according to a statement released by India's Ministry of External Affairs.
The statement described the Sikh movement as "promoting secessionism and inciting violence" against Indian diplomats. It called on Canada to work with India on what New Delhi said is a threat to the Canadian Indian diaspora.
Canada has a Sikh population of more than 770,000 or about 2% of its total population.
"Over the past number of weeks 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," Trudeau said.
Trudeau said Canada has declared its deep concerns to the Indian government. "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 his government has been working closely and coordinating with Canada's allies on the case.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Canada's national security adviser and the head of Canada's spy service have travelled to India to meet their counterparts and to confront the Indian intelligence agencies with the allegations.
Joly said Trudeau also raised the matter with U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
"We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. "We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada's investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice."
Opposition New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh, who is himself Sikh, called it outrageous and shocking. Singh said he grew up hearing stories that challenging India's record on human rights might prevent you from getting a visa to travel there.
"But to hear the prime minister of Canada corroborate a potential link between a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil by a foreign government is something I could never have imagined," Singh said.
Information for this article was contributed by Aamer Madhani of The Associated Press.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib is seen in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly listens to questions from reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian authorities had intelligence that Indias government may have had links to the June assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Moninder Singh, front right, a spokesperson for the British Columbia Gurdwaras Council (BCGC), prepares to speak to reporters outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
A man rides a bike outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib is seen in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib is seen in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Women walk past as a photograph of late temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar on a banner outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Khalistan flags are seen outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that Indias government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a statement in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)