Sikh leader’s death: ‘clear indications’ India violated Canada’s sovereignty, Trudeau says

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday there were “clear indications” that India had violated Canadian sovereignty, as the countries row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil last year that Ottawa blamed on New Delhi.

Trudeau’s latest charge came two days after India and Canada expelled each other’s ambassadors as Ottawa alleged that Indian involvement in a campaign against Sikh separatists went beyond what was previously known.

Tensions have soared since Canada accused the Indian government of involvement in last year’s killing outside a Sikh temple of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an advocate for an independent Sikh state who had immigrated to Canada and become a citizen.

At a hearing on foreign interference on Wednesday, Trudeau addressed Nijjar’s murder, as well as what he termed a broader campaign by Indian government representatives targeting Canadian citizens inside Canada.

“We had clear and certainly now ever clearer indications that India had violated Canada’s sovereignty,” Trudeau told the inquiry.

He added that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had determined that “violence towards Canadians … has been enabled by and in many cases directed by the Indian government”.