India raises tensions with Canada and expels diplomat after accusations of assassination of Sikh leader

India announced this Tuesday the expulsion of a senior diplomatic official from Canada, in response to the accusation by Canadian authorities that the Asian country was involved in the murder in its territory of one of its citizens, a separatist leader of Indian origin and belonging to the Sikh community.

“The Canadian High Commissioner to India was summoned and informed about the Government of India's decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomatic official,” the Asian country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The diplomat must leave India in the coming days, in a move that reflects “growing concerns about the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs,” according to Foreign Affairs.

The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar last June in the town of Surrey, in western Canada, has sparked a diplomatic crisis between both countries.

Nijjar was shot by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple, and had been accused of terrorism by Indian authorities for advocating the creation of the independent state of Khalistan for the Sikh minority in the Indian state of Punjab. This separatist movement escalated into an armed insurgency in the 1980s that left tens of thousands dead in its wake.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, stated last Monday that, according to Canadian intelligence services, India was involved in the murder of Nijjar. Canada also expelled an Indian diplomat, responsible for the Asian nation's intelligence in the country.

For its part, the Government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejected these accusations, which it described as absurd and motivated. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, Trudeau's statements seek to “divert attention from Khalistani terrorists and extremists.”

New Delhi has repeatedly accused Canada of allowing the presence of people who threaten its “territorial integrity”, while Trudeau defended the right to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration after a tense meeting with Modi during the G20 summit on September 9. and September 10.

After the meeting of both leaders, Canada this week postponed its trade mission to India after the paralysis of negotiations for a free trade agreement. Canada has 1.8 million people of Indian origin, of whom about 770,000 are Sikhs.