India govt may be linked to killing of B.C. Sikh leader: Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian intelligence services have launched an investigation into “credible” information about “a potential link” between the government of India and the murder of British Columbia Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The probe comes after Nijjar was fatally shot on June 18 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C.

Canadian Sikh community members have accused the Indian government of being responsible for the killing and trying to silence those advocating for part of Punjab state to become an independent Sikh nation. However, police denied having evidence of that.

Trudeau told the House of Commons on Monday that Canadian security agencies have spent the last few weeks “actively pursuing credible allegations” that agents of the government of India were behind Nijjar’s death.

Trudeau says he brought up the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi earlier this month.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves,” Trudeau says.

The relationship between Canada and India has been strained for months.

Canada recently paused trade talks with India and cancelled a trade mission to the country that was slated for this fall.

– With files from The Canadian Press.