Trudeau implicates Indian authorities in murder committed in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed this Monday that the country's intelligence services implicate Indian authorities in the murder in Canada of a leader of the Sikh community.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said in the Lower House of the Canadian Parliament.

Following Trudeau's statement, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the expulsion of a “key diplomat” from India, responsible for Indian intelligence in the country.

Canada “will not tolerate any form of interference” and the Government will “protect Canada's sovereignty,” he said.

The prime minister added that Canada “has conveyed its deep concerns to the highest security and Indian government officials” over the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which occurred last June in the town of Surrey, in western Canada.

Singh Nijjar, shot by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple, had been accused of terrorism by the Indian authorities for advocating the creation in the state of Punjab of an independent country, Khalistan, for the Sikh minority.

Trudeau informed the country's main political leaders this Monday of the conclusions of the Canadian intelligence services on India's involvement in the assassination and stated that during the G20 summit, held in India on September 9 and 10, He has asked his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, for explanations.

“In the strongest possible way, I recommend that the Government of India collaborate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter,” said the president, who described what happened as “extremely serious.”

On September 1, the Canadian Government announced the suspension of talks with India for the signing of a free trade agreement, without explaining the reasons.. Canada has also canceled a trade mission to India that should have taken place in October.

About 1.8 million people of Indian origin live in Canada, of which about 770,000 are Sikhs.. The leader of the social democratic New Democratic Party (NPD), Jagmeet Singh, the fourth party in the Canadian Parliament, is Sikh.