MODI'S SECRET SERVICE IN CANADA
ROB GILLIES
Updated Wed, October 16, 2024
Canada Foreign Interference
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testifies at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa, Ontario, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.
(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that Canada's national police force went public with its allegations against Indian diplomats this week because it had to disrupt violent acts in Canada including drive-by-shootings, extortions and even murder.
The Royal Canadian Police said Monday it had identified India’s top diplomat in the country and five other diplomats as persons of interest in the June 2023 killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The RCMP also said they uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadians by agents of the Indian government.
“We are not looking to provoke or create a fight with India," Trudeau said. "The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada. We need to respond in order to ensure Canadians safety.”
Niijar's killing has strained bilateral relations between India and Canada for over a year and boiled over this week as the countries expelled each other’s top diplomats over those allegations and other alleged crimes in Canada.
Trudeau said he has tried not to “blow up” relations with India and that Canadian officials provided evidence privately with their Indian counterparts who, he said, have been uncooperative.
“The decision by the RCMP to go forward with that announcement was entirely anchored in public safety and a goal of disrupting the chain of activities that was resulting in drive by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder in and across Canada," Trudeau said while testifying Wednesday before the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa.
Trudeau said Indian diplomats have been passing information about Canadians to the highest levels of the Indian government which was then shared with organized crime, resulting in violence against Canadians.
“It was the RCMP's determination that that scheme needed to be disrupted," he said.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said Monday police have evidence allegedly tying Indian government agents to other homicides and violent acts in Canada. He declined to provide specifics, citing ongoing investigations, but he said there have been well over a dozen credible and imminent threats that have resulted in police warning members of the South Asian community, notably the pro-Khalistan, or Sikh independence, movement.
Trudeau said India has violated Canada’s sovereignty. India has rejected the accusations as absurd.
In response to Trudeau’s testimony at the inquiry, India’s foreign ministry claimed again that Canada has not provided evidence of the allegations. In a statement, the ministry blamed Trudeau for “the damage that this cavalier behavior has caused to India-Canada relations.”
India has repeatedly criticized Trudeau’s government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar’s murder and are awaiting trial.
Trudeau noted his government could have gone public with the allegations when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the G20 Summit in September 2023, but chose not to. He met with Modi and expressed concerns privately then.
“It was a big moment for India welcoming all the leaders of the world to New Delhi for a very important summit and we had the opportunity of making it a very uncomfortable summit for India if we went public with these allegations ahead of time," said Trudeau. “We chose to continue to work with India behind the scenes to try and get India to cooperate with us.”
Trudeau said that when he returned home India's response, particularly through the media, was to attack Canada.
Trudeau later went public in Parliament with the allegation that the Indian government might have been involved in Niijar’s killing. He said there were about to be media stories detailing the allegation of India's possible involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh on Canadian soil. He said he went public because of worries about public safety.
Canada’s foreign minister on Monday said violence in Canada has worsened since then.
The British government said India should cooperate with Canada’s investigation into accusations that its government has been involved in an escalating number of violent crimes in Canada. In a statement, the British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said India's cooperation with Canada’s legal process “is the right next step.”
A U.S. State Department spokesman told a news conference Tuesday that the U.S. had long been asking India to cooperate with Canadian authorities.
India made ‘horrific mistake’ by violating Canadian sovereignty, says Justin Trudeau
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
THE INDEPENDENT UK
Thu, October 17, 2024
Scroll back up to restore default view.
Justin Trudeau said India made a "horrific mistake" by allegedly interfering in Canada's sovereignty as bilateral relations degraded to their lowest point in decades.
The Canadian prime minister made the comment just two days after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats and New Delhi followed suit as the fallout from the investigation into the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar continued to damage ties between the two countries.
The Canadian government has claimed that India’s high commissioner and other top diplomats were directly involved in the killing of Nijjar. India has denied the allegation as "preposterous". New Delhi reacted furiously when Ottawa first made the allegation last year by briefly suspending visas for Canadians.
Nijjar, 45, a Sikh activist and plumber, was shot dead by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, in June 2023. He was a face of the Khalistan movement, which seeks to carve out an independent Sikh homeland in western India. New Delhi had long accused Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, of being involved in terrorism, an allegation he denied.
“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada," Mr Trudeau told an independent panel looking into suspected external interference in Canadian politics on Wednesday.
He said Canada had to take violations of its sovereignty and of international law seriously.
The Indian foreign ministry responded that Mr Trudeau’s deposition confirmed its position that Canada had provided "no evidence whatsoever" to support its allegations against Indian diplomats. ”The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with prime minister Trudeau alone," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Mr Trudeau said he was briefed about Nijjar’s murder in the summer of 2023. He received intelligence from Canadian authorities and "possibly from Five Eyes allies", he added, which made it "incredibly clear that India was involved" in the killing of a "Canadian on Canadian soil".
The Five Eyes is a global intelligence network of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Canadian police have charged four Indian nationals living in the North American country with Niijar’s killing. They are all awaiting trial.
Mr Trudeau said his government could have gone public with this information when Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hosted the G20 Summit in September 2023, but chose not to. He met with Mr Modi and expressed concerns privately then.
"At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said, let us work together and look into your security services," Mr Trudeau told the inquiry.
"We chose to continue to work with India behind the scenes to try and get India to cooperate with us.”
Mr Trudeau said he had hoped to handle the matter “in a responsible way" that didn’t hurt the bilateral relationship but New Delhi rejected Ottawa’s request for assistance.
"It was clear that the Indian government's approach was to criticise us and the integrity of our democracy," he said.
The prime minister said he went public because of worries about public safety which Canadian authorities say have only worsened since.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioner Mike Duheme alleged on Monday that they have evidence tying Indian government agents to other homicides and violent acts in the country. He declined to give details, citing ongoing investigations, but said there had been over a dozen credible and imminent threats resulting in police warning members of the South Asian community, notably the pro-Khalistan movement.
Canada’s top envoy to India, Stewart Wheeler, who New Delhi has ordered to leave by Saturday night, told AFP that Ottawa had provided “credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen”.
The British government said on Wednesday that India should cooperate with the Canadian investigation into accusations that its agents were involved in an escalating number of violent crimes in Canada.
In a statement, the British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said India's cooperation with Canada’s legal process “is the right next step”.
A US State Department spokesman said Washington had long been asking India to cooperate with Canadian authorities.
Trudeau accuses India of 'massive mistake' amid diplomatic row
Thu, October 17, 2024
Scroll back up to restore default view.
Justin Trudeau said India made a "horrific mistake" by allegedly interfering in Canada's sovereignty as bilateral relations degraded to their lowest point in decades.
The Canadian prime minister made the comment just two days after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats and New Delhi followed suit as the fallout from the investigation into the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar continued to damage ties between the two countries.
The Canadian government has claimed that India’s high commissioner and other top diplomats were directly involved in the killing of Nijjar. India has denied the allegation as "preposterous". New Delhi reacted furiously when Ottawa first made the allegation last year by briefly suspending visas for Canadians.
Nijjar, 45, a Sikh activist and plumber, was shot dead by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, in June 2023. He was a face of the Khalistan movement, which seeks to carve out an independent Sikh homeland in western India. New Delhi had long accused Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, of being involved in terrorism, an allegation he denied.
“The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada," Mr Trudeau told an independent panel looking into suspected external interference in Canadian politics on Wednesday.
He said Canada had to take violations of its sovereignty and of international law seriously.
The Indian foreign ministry responded that Mr Trudeau’s deposition confirmed its position that Canada had provided "no evidence whatsoever" to support its allegations against Indian diplomats. ”The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with prime minister Trudeau alone," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Mr Trudeau said he was briefed about Nijjar’s murder in the summer of 2023. He received intelligence from Canadian authorities and "possibly from Five Eyes allies", he added, which made it "incredibly clear that India was involved" in the killing of a "Canadian on Canadian soil".
The Five Eyes is a global intelligence network of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Canadian police have charged four Indian nationals living in the North American country with Niijar’s killing. They are all awaiting trial.
Mr Trudeau said his government could have gone public with this information when Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hosted the G20 Summit in September 2023, but chose not to. He met with Mr Modi and expressed concerns privately then.
"At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said, let us work together and look into your security services," Mr Trudeau told the inquiry.
"We chose to continue to work with India behind the scenes to try and get India to cooperate with us.”
Mr Trudeau said he had hoped to handle the matter “in a responsible way" that didn’t hurt the bilateral relationship but New Delhi rejected Ottawa’s request for assistance.
"It was clear that the Indian government's approach was to criticise us and the integrity of our democracy," he said.
The prime minister said he went public because of worries about public safety which Canadian authorities say have only worsened since.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioner Mike Duheme alleged on Monday that they have evidence tying Indian government agents to other homicides and violent acts in the country. He declined to give details, citing ongoing investigations, but said there had been over a dozen credible and imminent threats resulting in police warning members of the South Asian community, notably the pro-Khalistan movement.
Canada’s top envoy to India, Stewart Wheeler, who New Delhi has ordered to leave by Saturday night, told AFP that Ottawa had provided “credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen”.
The British government said on Wednesday that India should cooperate with the Canadian investigation into accusations that its agents were involved in an escalating number of violent crimes in Canada.
In a statement, the British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said India's cooperation with Canada’s legal process “is the right next step”.
A US State Department spokesman said Washington had long been asking India to cooperate with Canadian authorities.
Trudeau accuses India of 'massive mistake' amid diplomatic row
Nadine Yousif - BBC News, Toronto and Nikita Yadav - BBC News, Delhi
Thu, October 17, 2024
On Wednesday, Trudeau appeared before a public inquiry looking into foreign interference in Canadian politics [AFP via Getty Images]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of making a "massive mistake" that Canada could not ignore if Delhi was behind the death of a Sikh separatist leader last year on Canadian soil.
Trudeau made the comments two days after Canadian officials accused India of being involved in homicides, extortions and other violent acts targeting Indian dissidents on Canadian soil.
After Canada levelled the accusations on Monday, both countries expelled top envoys and diplomats, ramping up already strained tensions.
India has rejected the allegations as “preposterous”, and accused Trudeau of pandering to Canada’s large Sikh community for political gain.
On Wednesday, India hit back angrily again and called Trudeau's behaviour "cavalier".
"Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
"The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."
In his remarks before a public inquiry looking into foreign interference in Canadian politics, Trudeau had criticised India's response to the investigation into Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing in June 2023.
According to Trudeau, he was briefed on the murder later that summer and received intelligence that made it "incredibly clear" that India was involved in the killing.
He said Canada had to take any alleged violation of its sovereignty and the international rule of law seriously.
Mr Nijjar was shot and killed in Surrey, British Columbia. He had been a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement, which demands a separate Sikh homeland, and publicly campaigned for it.
At the time, however, Canada's intelligence did not amount to hard evidence or proof, Trudeau told the inquiry.
Police have since charged four Indian nationals over the Mr Nijjar's death.
Trudeau said he had hoped to handle the matter “in a responsible way" that didn't "blow up" the bilateral relationship with a significant trade partner, but that Indian officials rebuffed Canada's requests for assistance into the probe.
"It was clear that the Indian government's approach was to criticise us and the integrity of our democracy," he said.
Shortly after he made the allegations public, saying in that September that Canada had "credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder.
How relations between India and Canada hit rock bottom
Who was Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Why are some Sikhs calling for a separate state?
The prime minister also added on Wednesday more detail to further allegations released this week by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The police force took the rare step of publicly disclosing information about multiple ongoing investigations “due to significant threat to public safety” in Canada.
RCMP said on Monday there had been “over a dozen credible and imminent threats to life” which “specifically” focused on members of the pro-Khalistan movement.
Subsequent investigations had led to police uncovering alleged criminal activity orchestrated by government of India agents, according to the RCMP.
Trudeau said the force made the announcement with “a goal of disrupting the chain of activities that was resulting in drive-by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder" in the South Asian community across Canada.
India has vehemently denied all allegations and maintained that Canada has provided no evidence to support its claims.
The RCMP and national security advisers travelled to Singapore last weekend to meet Indian officials - a meeting the RCMP said was not fruitful.
Following Monday's allegations from Canadian officials, the UK and US urged India to co-operate with Canada's legal process.
On Wednesday, the British Foreign Office said in a statement that it is in contact with Ottawa "about the serious developments outlined in the independent investigations in Canada".
The UK has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system,” the statement added.
"The Government of India's co-operation with Canada's legal process is the right next step."
The US, another close Canadian ally, said that India was not co-operating with Canadian authorities as the White House had hoped it would.
“We have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously and we want to see the government of India co-operate with Canada in its investigation," said spokesperson Matthew Miller at a US State Department briefing on Tuesday.
"Obviously, they have not chosen that path.”
Canada's foreign minister, Melanie Joly, has said that Ottawa is in close contact with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance - comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - on the matter.
Deepening Canada-India standoff seen as a short-term boost for Modi, Trudeau
Tue, October 15, 2024
: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G20 summit in India
By Krishn Kaushik and David Ljunggren
NEW DELHI/OTTAWA (Reuters) - The prime ministers of India and Canada could benefit politically in the short term from the unprecedented expulsion of top diplomats from each country, analysts said on Tuesday.
Canada kicked out six Indian diplomats on Monday, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada. India retaliated by telling six Canadian diplomats to leave.
Although the tit-for-tat move sent bilateral relations skidding to a new low, Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau are unlikely to mind too much. Both leaders are in their third terms and face political challenges.
Analysts suggested the move could bolster Modi's image as a hawk on national security.
"I think people will see the government of India standing up to intimidation and coercive measures applied by a developed country," said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India's former foreign secretary. "The public will strongly back Prime Minister Modi and the government."
In a June election, Modi suffered a setback when his Bharatiya Janata Party unexpectedly lost its majority. In his weakened position, Modi is forced to rely on regional allies to form a coalition government.
Canada is home to the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab, or about 2% of Canada's population. Demonstrations in recent years to carve a separate homeland have irked India's government, which regularly accuses Canada of harboring separatists.
Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, said the more Trudeau targeted India, the better it was for Modi.
"(He is seen as) a leader of a country standing up for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a nation. ... That someway encapsulates why Modi and his popularity will not be dented," he said.
For Trudeau, whose Liberal Party is trailing far behind in the polls for a national election that must be held by October 2025, the news took the spotlight off a supposed effort by unhappy legislators to urge him to quit and let a new leader take over.
"There will be time to talk about internal party intrigue at another moment," he told reporters when asked about the matter on Sunday.
"Right now, this government and indeed all parliamentarians should be focused on standing up for Canada's sovereignty, standing against interference and looking to be there to support Canadians in this difficult moment."
The leaders of both Canada's left-leaning opposition parties, whose support Trudeau needs to keep his minority government alive, said they backed the expulsions.
But Cristine de Clercy, professor of politics at Trent University in Peterborough, said any bump for Trudeau would likely be brief.
"You could say, yes, the short-term upside is to displace headlines," she said. "The list of domestic issues that he has to address is so much longer and more complicated than this single incident in a faraway country."
The politically influential Sikh community has backed the Liberals and other parties in recent years. At least one leader said he welcomed the expulsions but did not expect the dispute to impact domestic politics.
"It shows that the government is actually holding India to account, which is actually their job," said Moninder Singh, a spokesperson for the nonprofit B.C. Gurdwaras Council which represents Sikh institutions in the province.
(Additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Richard Chang)
US, UK Push Ahead With Modi Despite Bombshell Trudeau Claims
Laura Dhillon Kane
Wed, October 16, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s closest allies signaled they will continue to pursue stronger ties with Narendra Modi’s government, despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that Indian diplomats secretly collected intelligence on Sikh separatists living in Canada who were then threatened, extorted or killed.
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The extraordinary claims, backed by statements from Canada’s national police force, are the latest development in a dispute that began last year, when Trudeau accused India of involvement in the murder of a Sikh activist in British Columbia.
Canada now alleges that Indian officials were involved in a much wider array of illegal activities on Canadian soil. It expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday after India refused to waive their diplomatic immunity for questioning. India responded by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave.
Trudeau’s allegations have the potential to undermine the public case for western allies strengthening their relations with India, but both the UK and US governments issued relatively muted statements on Tuesday that suggested little change in their approach.
“We have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously, and we’ve wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “Obviously they have not chosen that path.”
At the same time, Miller said India continues to be “an incredibly strong partner of the United States” and that New Delhi is key to the broader US vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Trudeau spoke by phone with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the latest developments. A brief readout released by Downing Street didn’t mention India by name, but said both leaders “agreed on the importance of the rule of law” and to remain in “close contact pending the conclusions of the investigation.”
On Wednesday, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office named India’s government in a statement, saying its cooperation with Canada on the investigation “is the right next step.” The UK was in contact with its Canadian partners about the allegations and it had full confidence in Canada’s judicial system, it said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters didn’t refer to India in his statement Tuesday. “The alleged criminal conduct outlined publicly by Canadian law enforcement authorities, if proven, would be very concerning,” he said.
Western countries have increasingly courted India as a geopolitical counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific region — despite their distaste with elements of Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. The UK is seeking a free trade agreement with India, while the US is partnering with the nation on defense, clean technology and energy.
Canada’s claims bring out into the open the question of whether Indian diplomats may be involved in similar activities in other western nations with large Sikh diasporas. The US is already grappling with this issue behind the scenes, adopting a “quiet diplomacy” approach to its own allegation that an Indian government agent ordered the assassination of a US citizen in New York — a plot that was foiled.
“This issue is not unique to Canada, although the diplomatic fallout and the way all of this has unfolded publicly is unique to Canada,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said in an interview.
The US has made a calculation that public shaming will work less effectively than cooperating with India — and to some extent it has been proven correct, she said.
Indian officials were in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the US allegation that one of its agents tried to arrange the killing of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American Sikh separatist. Miller said the timing was coincidental to Canada’s claims.
Bloomberg has reported that the internal Indian probe has resulted in a finding that rogue agents were to blame and that several Indian officials have departed the spy agency as a result. On Tuesday, the Hindustan Times reported that India had arrested an official identified in the US indictment as having directed the plot.
India has established no such internal inquiry into Canada’s allegations — instead, it has only denied, obfuscated and attacked in response, Trudeau said Monday. While the difference is also due to the US’s status as a superpower, it does speak to the efficacy of the US approach, Nadjibulla said.
‘It Needs Its Allies’
Canadian police and Trudeau said they spoke out publicly on Monday to counter an ongoing public safety threat and because efforts to work with India were unsuccessful.
Still, Canada’s strategy has been frustrating to allies and may not ultimately be constructive, Nadjibulla said. “Canada cannot effect change of behavior on its own. It needs its allies,” she said. “So while it’s good for us to stand on principle, the efficacy of that will only be determined on whether or not others stand with us.”
India, for its part, has called Canada’s claims “preposterous.” It had designated both Pannun and the slain Sikh separatist in British Columbia, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, as terrorists.
Trudeau and his foreign minister, Melanie Joly, said Monday they had briefed their Five Eyes partners: the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. A Canadian government official who asked not to be identified to discuss internal matters said they aren’t expecting big shows of public support from allies.
Trudeau and Joly, the official said, understand that this is a sensitive diplomatic matter and other countries may pursue their own approaches. However, the official stressed that allies support Canada’s probe behind closed doors.
Pannun said in an interview that the quiet diplomacy of the other Five Eyes nations won’t stop Modi’s administration. The Indian government feels encouraged that it has faced “no accountability” from the US, UK and others, he said.
“They are not being openly and publicly admonished, and they can continue to order assassinations of pro-Khalistan Sikhs and get away with it,” he said.
--With assistance from Iain Marlow, Alex Morales and Dan Strumpf.
India made 'horrific mistake' in violating Canada's sovereignty, Trudeau says
UPI
Thu, October 17, 2024
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) of posing a threat to members of the South Asian community in Canada. File Photo by Press Information Bureau/UPI
Oct. 17 (UPI) -- India made a "horrific mistake" by attempting to violate Canada's sovereignty, Prime Minister Justine Trudeau said, as Ottawa continues to lob stringent accusations that New Delhi agents pose a threat to the lives of Southeast Asians on Canadian soil.
Trudeau made the staunch criticism of India on Wednesday during the second day of a two-day public inquiry into foreign interference, two days after Canada and India expelled one another's diplomats as Ottawa has become more vocal about alleged threats posed by India to the Canadian public.
According to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Monday, investigations have uncovered "serious criminal activity" being committed by agents of India within the country.
The federal police agency said that over the past few years it has charged "a significant number" of people linked to the Indian government for direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts.
There have also been more than a dozen credible and imminent threats to life targeting members of the South Asian community, specifically members of the separatist Khalistan movement, which seeks to create a separate homeland for Sikhs in India's Punjab region.
Trudeau has previously accused India of being behind the June 18, 2023, assassination of Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
"We are not looking to provoke or create a fight with India," the Canadian leader said Wednesday during the hearing. "The Indian government made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada and we need to respond in order to ensure Canadians are safe."
India has staunchly rejected the accusations. Following Trudeau's testimony on Wednesday, New Delhi's foreign ministry spokesman, Shri Randhir Jaiswal, released a statement saying it only confirmed that Ottawa has no evidence to support its claims.
"Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and India diplomats," Jaiswal said. "The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behavior has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."
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