Canadian govt expells six Indian diplomats including high commissioner

The Canadian media on Monday quoted an unnamed senior official as saying that Ottawa has expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, reporting the development around the same time when India announced the expulsion of six members of the Canadian high commission in Delhi.

The Globe and Mail daily quoted the Canadian official as saying that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have evidence that the six diplomats were involved in the alleged plot to murder Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June last year.

Addressing a press conference later, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme warned of widespread violence, homicides and a public security threat linked to "agents" of the Indian government.

Hours earlier, India announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other "targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to an investigation into the killing of Nijjar.

The official, who, according to the local media, was not authorised to discuss the matter on national security grounds, said that the Canadian government presented the evidence to India last week and the Indian government staunchly denied the allegations.

Since the killing of Nijjar, a dozen people of Indian descent have been warned there was credible evidence that they could be targets of Indian agents, the official said.

Duheme said the RCMP has charged "a significant number" of people with direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence over the past few years and is aware of more than a dozen threats to members of the South Asian community and the pro-Khalistan movement, the Toronto Star newspaper reported.

In a statement issued on Monday, the RCMP said a multidisciplinary team "learned a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the Government of India, and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada".

"Despite law enforcement action, the harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety," it added.

The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.

New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".