Canada-India Row

Canadian Investigators Reluctant to Back Trudeau Against India

12:38, 21 September 2023
© AP Photo / Robert Bumsted
Dhairya Maheshwari
All materials
On Tuesday, India issued an extraordinary advisory urging its citizens in Canada to exercise “utmost caution” over growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes as relations sour between the two nations.
Sputnik
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has refused to corroborate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s charge that Canadian agencies have “credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

“We are aware of the comments made with respect to the active and ongoing investigation into the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, BC,” Sergeant Timothy Pierotti, the Media Relations Officer at IHIT, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), told Sputnik India in a statement.

Pierotti said that the probe was a “priority investigation” for the IHIT and that the investigators were working closely with the local, provincial and national police agencies and partners in order to “advance this investigation”.

“Investigators continue to gather information and evidence. However, we are not in position to discuss specifics,” Sergeant Pierotti said in reference to a question if Canadian police agencies have shared any specific details with the Canadian Prime Minister pinpointing at India’s role in the killing.

The Canadian police spokesman added that it's encouraging people with information on the matter to get in touch with IHIT.
Significantly, Trudeau has been under increasing pressure from Canada’s federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to come out with the facts which led him to believe that India was involved in the killing of Nijjar.

Trudeau Doubles Down on Claims Against India

The remarks come against the backdrop of a huge diplomatic furore between India and Canada after Trudeau claimed in the House of Commons on Monday that Canadian agencies had been “actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of Government of India” and the killing of Nijjar.
Consequently, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced that Ottawa had expelled a senior Indian diplomat in view of allegations of foreign “interference”.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd and motivated”.
The Indian government also announced its decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat posted in New Delhi for “anti-India activities”, in what is being viewed as a retaliatory gesture.
However, in spite of New Delhi’s firm rebuttal, Trudeau continues to blame them.

“India and the government of India need to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that. We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them," Trudeau said on Tuesday.

Canada-India Row
Where Did Trudeau’s ‘Credible Allegations’ on India’s Role in Nijjar’s Killing Come From?
20 September 2023, 20:55
Canada-India RowJustin TrudeauIndiaCanadaNew DelhiMinistry of External Affairs (MEA)Khalistan movementPunjabSikhsDelhiterror chargescross-border terrorismcounter-terrorismterrorismNarendra ModiIndian diasporacollective Westhate crime
Discuss