CNN
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Canada announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats Monday, including the high commissioner, after police investigations linked agents of the Indian government to homicides, harassment and other “acts of violence” against Sikh separatists in the country.
“Global Affairs Canada today announced that six Indian diplomats and consular officials had received a notice of expulsion from Canada in relation to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India,” read a statement shared by the department, which is headed by Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly.
The extraordinary step has sharply escalated diplomatic tensions between the countries, with India swiftly expelling six Canadian diplomats in response, including the acting High Commissioner, Stewart Ross Wheeler, according to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
The Indian government has called the accusations “preposterous” and said it was withdrawing the officials expelled by the Canadian government. “There is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” the statement added Monday. “The aspersions cast on (High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma) are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt.”
Earlier on Monday, the Royal Canada Mounted Police (RCMP) took the unusual step of publicly disclosing details of multiple investigations into the involvement of Indian government agents alleged to have taken part in “serious criminal activity” in Canada.
The decision to publicly disclose the investigations was taken “due to the significant threat to public safety” and after attempts to address the issue together with the Indian government had not yielded satisfactory results, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told reporters.
Duheme said that since September last year, there had been “well over a dozen credible and imminent threats” to the lives of members of the South Asian community, and specifically the “pro-Khalistan movement,” referring to a separatist movement among supporters of Sikh independence.
“Despite law enforcement action, the harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety,” Duheme said.
He added that the RCMP had found evidence of violent extremism impacting both Canada and India; links tying agents of the government of India to homicides and “violent acts” in Canada; organized crime targeting Canada’s South Asian community; and interference in democratic processes.
“Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion,” he said.
“The information collected for the government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community,” Duheme added.
— This is a developing story and will be updated.