OTTAWA — Accusations of widespread violent and criminal acts across Canada linked to agents of the government of India sparked an escalation of diplomatic tensions Monday, with each country expelling six diplomats.
Canada declared six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, persona non grata after RCMP and other government officials told India its diplomats were persons of interest in an investigation into violent crimes in Canada.RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme told a news conference in Ottawa that the force decided to take the"extraordinary" step of warning the public after Indian government officials refused to co-operate in the investigation into the threats.
The RCMP commissioner said investigations revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, including collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through proxies. Duheme said the force felt compelled to confront the government of India and to inform the public about its findings, but attempts to have discussions with Indian law enforcement were unsuccessful, he added.
That's when Trudeau rose in the House of Commons to announce that investigators had credible intelligence linking India's government to the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan activist.The latest allegations set off a diplomatic escalation that saw Canada expel six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner.
"Canada has provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil."Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the RCMP's allegations"extremely concerning," and levied his own accusations at Trudeau and his government for not taking national security and foreign interference seriously.
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