Canada PM Justin Trudeau accuses Indian govt of involvement in killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday claimed that the Indian government is behind the killing of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In June this year, Nijjar was killed by unidentified assailants outside a gurudwara in a parking area in Canada's Surrey.

Hailing from the Bharsinghpur village in Punjab's Jalandhar, Nijjar was based in Surrey. Nijjar was wanted in several cases by India and was declared an "absconder" by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). 

Trudeau said in a statement that Canadian national security officials have been actively pursuing allegations of the potential link between the Indian government and the killing of Nijjar.

"Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said in a statement. 

He further asserted that the alleged involvement of a foreign hand or government in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada was "an unacceptable violation" of their sovereignty. Trudeau also noted that he had raised the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi. 

Trudeau further added that this is in contradiction to the fundamentals on the basis of which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves. He said that Canada's two main priorities are the law enforcement and security agencies ensure the continued safety of all Canadian citizens and that steps are taken to hold the perpetrators of this murder to account.

The Canadian Prime Minister, who was recently in the news for receiving a cold and curt welcome at the G20 Summit 2023, also said that his government is working closely with Canadian allies on this issue. 

Trudeau further sought the cooperation of the Indian government "to get to the bottom of this matter". "In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the Government of India to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter. I also expect it to reiterate that its position on extra-judicial operations in another country is clearly and unequivocally in line with international law," he said. 

Towards the end of his statement, Trudeau said that some Indo-Canadians were "angry" and "perhaps frightened right now". Soon after Trudeau's remarks, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said an Indian diplomat in Canada has been expelled.

Joly said that the Canadian government expelled an Indian diplomat, the head of India's intelligence agency R&AW in Canada, over allegations of India's involvement in Nijjar's killing. The Canadian Foreign Minister, however, did not provide any personal details about the diplomat or the place from where he was expelled, Al Jazeera reported.

"We see this breach of sovereignty as completely unacceptable, and so, that is also why we're coming (out) with this information (of expulsion of the Indian diplomat) today," Joly said at a news conference. 

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