Oct. 17 (UPI) — India made a ‘horrible mistake’ by attempting to violate Canada’s sovereignty, Prime Minister Justine Trudeau said, as Ottawa continues to level harsh accusations that New Delhi agents pose a threat to life Southeast Asians on Canadian soil.

Trudeau sharply criticized India on Wednesday during the second day of a two-day public inquiry into foreign interference, two days after Canada and India expelled each other’s diplomats as Ottawa was more vocal about the alleged threats posed by India to the Canadian public. .

According to a press release released Monday by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, investigations revealed “serious criminal activities” committed by Indian agents inside the country. Federal police said that in recent years they had charged “a significant number” of people linked to the Indian government for their direct involvement in homicides, extortion and other criminal acts.

There have also been more than a dozen credible and imminent death threats aimed at members of the South Asian community, particularly members of the separatist Khalistan movement, which seeks to create a separate homeland for Sikhs in the region from Punjab in India.

Trudeau has already accused India of being behind the assassination, on June 18, 2023, of Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

“We are not looking to provoke or create a fight with India,” the Canadian leader said during the hearing on Wednesday. “The Indian government made a terrible mistake in thinking it could intervene so aggressively in Canada’s security and sovereignty and we must respond to ensure the safety of Canadians.”

India has categorically rejected these accusations. Following Trudeau’s testimony on Wednesday, New Delhi Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement saying it only confirmed that Ottawa had no evidence to support its claims.

“Canada has not presented us with any evidence to support the serious allegations it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” Jaiswal said. “Responsibility for the damage caused by this cavalier behavior to India-Canada relations lies solely with Prime Minister Trudeau.”