Canada has expelled India’s top diplomat along with five others, citing their involvement in a criminal conspiracy linked to the assassination of a Sikh activist on Canadian territory.
The Canadian government announced the expulsions after India refused to waive the diplomats’ diplomatic immunity, which prevented Canadian authorities from investigating allegations of homicide, extortion, and other violent criminal activities.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the situation in a press conference, stating, “We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil.
This is a profoundly unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and international law.”
In retaliation, India expelled six Canadian diplomats, with India’s top diplomat to Canada, Kumar Verma, claiming that the expulsions are politically motivated.
However, Canadian officials defended their actions, asserting that the severe nature of the allegations warranted such a response.
Michael Duheme, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), emphasised the gravity of the situation, stating, “An extraordinary situation is compelling us to speak about what we have discovered in our multiple ongoing investigations into the involvement of agents of the government of India in serious criminal activity in Canada.”
He added that the actions were prompted by a “significant threat to public safety” amid numerous credible threats against members of Canada’s Sikh community, which is the most significant outside of India.
The RCMP also indicated that Canada’s investigation has been supported by a similar inquiry in the United States regarding an attempted assassination of a Sikh cleric based in the U.S.
Hardeep Singh Niijjar, the Sikh cleric and pro-Khalistan activist who was murdered, had lived in Vancouver.
He was shot dead in June 2023 while sitting in his truck outside a gurdwara in British Columbia. Before his death, the Indian government labelled Niijjar a terrorist and placed a reward for information about him, alleging he was involved in a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in India—claims that Niijjar consistently denied.
Following the investigation, three men were arrested in Edmonton earlier this year in connection to Niijjar’s murder. The suspects, Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar, and Karanpreet Singh, are all Indian nationals residing in Canada.
India has dismissed the allegations against its diplomats as “absurd” and issued a statement emphasizing that it reserves the right to respond further to what it views as Canada’s support for extremism, violence, and separatism against India.
As tensions escalate, both nations are grappling with the implications of this diplomatic rift.
