Canada announced Monday the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police accused Indian government agents of being linked to killings, harassment and other “acts of violence” against Sikh separatists in the country.

“Global Affairs Canada announced today that six Indian diplomats and consular officials have received notices of expulsion from Canada in connection with a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Indian government,” read a press release shared by the ministry, which is led by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly.

The extraordinary measure sharply escalated diplomatic tensions between the countries, with India quickly expelling six Canadian diplomats in response, including Acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, according to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indian government called the accusations “absurd” and said it was withdrawing officials expelled by the Canadian government. “There is a deliberate strategy to defame India for political purposes,” the statement added on Monday. “The smears leveled against (High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma) are ridiculous and deserve to be treated with contempt.”

Joly said in a statement that the decision to expel the diplomats “was taken with great consideration and only after (Canadian police) gathered sufficient, clear and concrete evidence that identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar affair”, referring to the assassination. on Canadian soil last June by prominent Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Earlier Monday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) took the unusual step of publicly releasing details of several investigations into the involvement of Indian government agents suspected of taking part in “serious criminal activities” in Canada .

The decision to publicly disclose the investigations was taken “because of the significant threat to public safety” and after attempts to resolve the issue with the Indian government did not yield satisfactory results, the commissioner told reporters of the RCMP, Mike Duheme.

Duheme said that since September last year, there had been “well over a dozen credible and imminent threats” against the lives of members of the South Asian community, and specifically against the “pro-movement.” Khalistan”, referring to a separatist movement among supporters of Sikh independence.

“Despite police measures, the damage continued, which poses a serious threat to our public safety,” said Mr. Duheme.

He added that the RCMP had found evidence of violent extremism affecting both Canada and India; links Indian government agents to homicides and “acts of violence” in Canada; organized crime targeting Canada’s South Asian community; and interference in democratic processes.

“Investigations revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada took advantage of their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as gathering information for the Indian government, either directly or through of their agents; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or under duress,” he said.

“Information collected for the Indian government is then used to target members of the South Asian community,” Duheme added.

Earlier this year, Canada charged several Indian nationals with the alleged murder of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. At the time, authorities were investigating whether they had ties to the Indian government.

Nijjar was shot dead by masked men last June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. He was a prominent campaigner for a separate Sikh homeland outside India, which would be known as Khalistan and include parts of the Indian state of Punjab.

Last September, Trudeau said he had credible information linking the Indian government to Nijjar’s murder. The allegation outraged India, which forcefully denied the claim, calling it “absurd.” The diplomatic fallout has resulted in expulsions of senior diplomats from both countries.

In its statement on Monday, the Indian government said that since Trudeau made the allegations, the Canadian government has “not shared a single piece of evidence” and that the recent claims were also made “without any facts.”

The RCMP said Monday it had presented “evidence” directly to Indian government officials. “We continue to call on the Indian government to support the ongoing investigation into the Nijjar case, as it is in the interests of both our countries to get to the bottom of this matter,” added Global Affairs Canada.

Campaigns for the creation of Khalistan have long been banned in India, where painful memories of a deadly insurgency led by some Sikh separatists continue to haunt many people. But it generates some public sympathy among the Sikh diaspora abroad, where activists protected by free speech laws can more openly demand secession from India.

Weeks after Trudeau’s 2023 announcement, the United States accused an Indian government official of being involved in a plot to kill another Sikh separatist, American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on American soil. A U.S. indictment unsealed in November accused an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, of trying to kill Pannun, a man wanted in India and considered a terrorist by the government.

— This is a developing story and will be updated.

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