Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made allegations alleging that diplomats from India are involved in murders and violence across Canadian territory.
While testifying before a public inquiry, he said Canada had clear intelligence linking Indian diplomats to “drive-by shootings, home invasions, violent extortion and even murder within and across Canada.”
Trudeau added that India made a “horrible mistake” by violating Canadian sovereignty.
The Prime Minister’s allegations came two days after the Indian diplomats were accused of being involved in “criminal” activities on Canadian soil by senior Canadian police officials that range from murder and targeted assassinations to extortion, intimidation and coercion against members of the Canadian Sikh community, it was reported. The Guardian.
Officials have alleged that Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner himself, were involved not only in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nigar, a prominent Sikh activist who was gunned down outside a gurdwara in suburban Vancouver last June, but also with links to other organizations. Murders on Canadian soil.
Moreover, the diplomats worked with a gang run by India’s most notorious mob boss to get their dirty work done, according to officials.
The latest allegations represent a major escalation of a diplomatic row that has damaged Indo-Canadian relations, which began last year when Trudeau stood up in Parliament and said there were “credible allegations” linking the Indian government to Najjar’s killing, which constituted murder. India rejected the accusation, calling it “ridiculous.”
It is also worth noting that allegations of India’s campaign of transnational violence and harassment have surfaced not only in Canada but also in the US, UK and Pakistan since then, where prominent Sikh activists say they have received threats on their lives.