Photo: AP file
India's ambassador to Canada and other Indian diplomats have been identified as "persons of interest" in an ongoing Canadian investigation, according to a statement from the Indian foreign ministry on Monday. The statement cited a diplomatic communication from Canada. New Delhi has vehemently rejected the "preposterous imputations" made by Canada, suggesting that the claims are part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "political agenda" aimed at "vote bank politics".
Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have been strained since September 2023, when Trudeau claimed that Canada had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil earlier that year. This assertion was met with a strong denial from New Delhi.
India has consistently maintained that Canada has not provided any evidence to substantiate its claims. The foreign ministry stated, "This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."
The statement further added that India "now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats". In October 2023, Canada withdrew more than 40 diplomats from India after New Delhi requested Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.
Earlier this year, Trudeau expressed hope that India would "engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter". Shortly after Canada's allegation, the US also claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot of another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023, resulting in the indictment of an Indian national.
