Canada is investigating allegations that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh activist, a Canadian citizen, on Canadian soil.
The victim, Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was murdered outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
Nijjar was a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. The movement is banned in India as officials consider it a threat to national security. But the movement still has some support in countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, where large Sikh communities live.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses local Liberal Party supporters at a private fundraiser held at the Edmonton Convention Center on August 26, 2023 in Edmonton, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian intelligence agencies are investigating allegations that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government may have played a role in Nijjar’s murder.
Trudeau told parliament on Monday that he had discussed the issue with Modi at the G-20 last week. He said he told Modi that any involvement would be unacceptable and asked for cooperation in the investigation.
“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.
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Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the head of India’s intelligence agency in Canada had been deported as a result.
Public Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Canada’s national security adviser and the head of Canada’s spy agency traveled to India to meet with their counterparts and confront Indian intelligence agencies with the allegations.
The leader of the opposition Conservatives, Pierre Pouliev, said that if the allegations were true, they represented “an outrageous affront to our sovereignty”.
“Canadians deserve to be protected on Canadian soil. We call on the Indian government to act with complete transparency as authorities investigate this murder, because the truth must come out,” said Poilievre.
Opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, himself a Sikh, called it outrageous and shocking.
“To all Canadians, this is my pledge,” Singh said. “I will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice, including holding Narendra Modi accountable.”
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The Indian embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
