Canada removes 41 diplomats from India amid heightened diplomatic tensions

Canada's foreign minister said Thursday that 41 of the country's diplomats have been removed from India after the Indian government said it would revoke their diplomatic immunity.

The moves comes after Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.

The Associated Press previously reported that India had told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday that 41 diplomats and as well as their dependents have been removed.

Joly said exceptions have been made for 21 Canadian diplomats who will remain in India.

Joly said removing diplomatic immunity is contrary to international law, and said for that reason Canada won't retaliate.

India's Ministry of External Affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had previously called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India's staffing in Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month that there were credible allegations of Indian involvement in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver.

For years, India had said that Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, had links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar denied.