Canada and India each expelled six diplomats on Monday, amid a growing dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada.

Relations have been strained since the incident, when Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader.

India has denied Mr. Trudeau’s accusation.

On Monday, India announced it had withdrawn six diplomats, including the country’s ambassador to Ottawa, after they were declared “persons of interest” in the murder investigation.

He rejected Canada’s decision and accused Mr. Trudeau of pursuing a “political agenda.”

India’s foreign ministry said: “We have no confidence in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensuring their security.” Therefore, the Indian government decided to remove the high commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.

Canadian sources said they were expelled, not removed.

“Irrefutable evidence”

India later said it had asked the six Canadian diplomats to leave by Saturday, October 19.

He also said he had summoned Stewart Wheeler, the Canadian charge d’affaires, to protest.

The Canadian government has not publicly confirmed that it has named an Indian official as a person of interest.

Mr. Wheeler reiterated Trudeau’s accusation on Monday, saying in a statement: “Canada has provided credible and irrefutable evidence of links between Indian government agents and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”

“Now it is time for India to live up to what it promised to do and look into these allegations.”

India has repeatedly said Canada has not provided any evidence to support its claims.

“Defaming India for political purposes”

“This latest step follows interactions that once again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves no doubt that, under the pretext of investigation, there is a deliberate strategy to defame India for political purposes,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said.

Canada withdrew more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.

In June, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians named India and China as the top foreign threats to its democratic institutions, based on feedback from intelligence agencies.

The United States also alleged that Indian agents were involved in an assassination attempt against another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, and said it had charged an Indian national working at the behest of an unnamed Sikh official. Indian government.

India expressed concern after the United States raised the issue, dissociating itself from the plot and launching an investigation.