By David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada stated on Monday that it was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian authorities brokers to the homicide of a Sikh separatist chief in British Columbia in June, dealing an extra blow to diplomatic ties between the nations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in an emergency assertion to the House of Commons that any involvement of a international authorities within the killing of a Canadian citizen was “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot useless exterior a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a big Sikh inhabitants. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland within the type of an unbiased Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.

“Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India” and Nijjar’s dying, Trudeau stated.

He stated he had raised the homicide straight with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi final week, and urged the federal government of India to “cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter”.

“Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government. Last week at the G20 I brought them personally and directly to Prime Minister Modi in no uncertain terms,” he stated.

Canada additionally expelled India’s high intelligence agent within the nation on Monday, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated, with out offering particulars. The Indian excessive fee in Ottawa didn’t reply to requests for remark.

Trudeau’s feedback mark a big escalation in tensions between Canada and the world’s largest democracy, with New Delhi sad over Sikh separatist exercise in Canada.

Modi conveyed his robust issues to Trudeau on the G20 summit over current demonstrations in Canada by Sikhs calling for an unbiased state.

The diplomatic strains at the moment are threatening commerce ties, with talks on a proposed commerce deal now frozen. Canada has given few particulars for the deadlock whereas India has cited “certain political developments.”

Bilateral commerce in 2022 amounted to only C$13.7 billion ($10.2 billion) out of Canada’s complete of C$1.52 trillion, based on Statistics Canada.

“We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated in a press release launched late on Monday night time.

Trudeau didn’t straight accuse India of being concerned within the homicide and Foreign Minister Joly later used extra cautious language, saying “if proven true” the allegations could be unacceptable.

British Columbia’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team stated final month there have been three suspects, although no arrests have been made.

Canada has the very best inhabitants of Sikhs exterior their house state of Punjab in India, and the nation has been the location of many demonstrations which have irked India.

Canada can also be house to one of many largest abroad communities of Indian origin, which quantity about 1.4 million out of an general Canadian inhabitants of 40 million. About 770,000 folks reported Sikhism as their faith within the 2021 census.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc stated a number of senior Canadian authorities officers had visited India lately to specific Ottawa’s issues.

In April, India requested Britain for elevated monitoring of UK-based supporters of a Sikh separatist motion. New Delhi was upset after protesters carrying “Khalistan” banners indifferent the Indian flag from the diplomatic mission’s constructing in London.

($1 = 1.3487 Canadian {dollars})

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Denny Thomas and Stephen Coates)

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