Canada expels India’s top diplomat in criminal conspiracy investigation

Canada has expelled India’s top diplomat claiming he and others are part of a criminal conspiracy that is responsible for assassinating a Sikh activist on Canadian soil.

The Canadian government announced the expulsion orders of six diplomats after the Indian government refused to waive their diplomatic immunity – which prevented authorities from including them in investigations into allegations of homicide, extortion, and other criminal acts of violence. All six are considered persons of interest in ongoing investigations.

“We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil, a deeply unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and of international law,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference Monday.

The Indian government expelled six Canadian diplomats in return. India’s top diplomat to Canada, Mr. Kumar Verma, has called the expulsion politically motivated.

But Canadian authorities said the “extraordinary” allegations forced them to take punitive action.

“An extraordinary situation is compelling us to speak about what we have discovered in our multiple ongoing investigations into the involvement of agents of the government of India in serious criminal activity in Canada,” Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Michael Duheme said.

Duheme added that they were taking the escalating step due to a “significant threat to public safety in our country” – including more than a dozen credible threats to members of Canada’s Sikh community, the largest population of Sikhs outside of India.

The Mounties also allege that India has been orchestrating a large intelligence-gathering operation within the country.

Canada’s investigation has been aided by a similar investigation in the United States into the failed assassination of a US-based Sikh cleric. 

Hardeep Singh Niijjar was a Sikh cleric and Khalistan independence advocate who lived in Vancouver, Canada. Niijjar was gunned down in his pick-up truck outside a gurdwara in British Columbia, in June 2023, by three masked men.

Previously, the Indian government accused Niijjar – who ran a plumbing business for 20 years – of being the mastermind behind Khalistan Tiger Force, a Sikh militant group. 

He was officially designated a terrorist on the subcontinent in 2020.

Before his death, the Indian government announced a $12,000 reward for information regarding Niijjar. They say he was involved in a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in India – claims the cleric denied prior to his death.

Three men were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, earlier this year in connection to the murder. Kamalpreet Singh, 22; Karan Brar, 22; and Karanpreet Singh, 28, were each Indian nationals living in Canada as resident non-citizens. 

India has rejected the claims of involvement on the part of their diplomats as absurd.

“India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

With Post wires.