Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, on Monday, alleging their involvement in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and accusing them of targeting Indian dissidents in Canada.
In retaliation, India expelled six high-ranking Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner, and withdrew its envoy from Canada, contradicting Canada’s statement of expulsion.
The two Commonwealth countries' already tense relations have significantly worsened as a result of this diplomatic dispute.
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted last year that he had proof connecting Indian operatives to the kill of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, tensions increased.
Trudeau stated that the Canadian government had "clear and compelling evidence" that Indian agents were involved in activities threatening public safety in Canada.
These activities, according to Trudeau, involved clandestine intelligence gathering, coercive behavior, and over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder.
The actions of the Indian government were denounced by Trudeau as "unacceptable" and he claimed that India had committed a grave mistake by committing crimes in Canada.
India, which has repeatedly disputed the charges, rejected Canada's most recent investigation on Monday, accusing Trudeau of having a "political agenda."
The Canadian government's allegations were corroborated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which said that India had carried out a widespread campaign of extortion and murder against Indian dissidents.
Along with targeting the South Asian community in Canada, the RCMP claimed that India had used organized crime groups to sabotage democratic processes.
Brigitte Gauvin, the RCMP's assistant commissioner, named "the Bishnoi group" as one such organized crime element connected to Indian agents.
Lawrence Bishnoi, head of the Bishnoi group, is currently imprisoned in western India, awaiting trial on terrorism charges, according to India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).
"The Canadian allegations will be investigated, and the truth will be revealed after further inquiry by investigative agencies," said Rajani, Bishnoi's attorney.
The RCMP's "ample, clear and concrete evidence" connecting the diplomats to the Nijjar case served as the basis for Canada's foreign ministry's decision to deport them.
Citing worries about their safety and a lack of faith in the Canadian government's ability to safeguard them, India retaliated by removing its ambassadors from Canada.
"We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security," India's foreign ministry said in an explanation of the country's decision to withdraw its diplomats.
India also ordered six Canadian diplomats to leave by Saturday, while summoning Acting High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler for discussions in New Delhi.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly revealed that Canada had requested India to remove diplomatic immunity for the accused diplomats so they could be questioned, but India refused to cooperate.
Although Joly stressed that "We're not seeking diplomatic confrontation with India," Canada was required to withdraw the diplomats because it would not remain silent if its citizens were threatened or harmed.
After New Delhi demanded that Canada's diplomatic presence be reduced, Canada removed more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023, further escalating the diplomatic crisis.
Fen Osler Hampson of Carleton University and other experts characterized the situation as progressing from a rift to a "major rupture," cautioning that a return to regular ties appeared improbable in the immediate future.
The greatest Sikh diaspora outside of Punjab is found in Canada, and the Indian government has long been at odds with them over their political engagement.
The United States has also charged an Indian national acting on behalf of an unidentified Indian official and accused Indian agents of participating in a conspiracy to assassinate another Sikh separatist leader in New York last year.
The charges have damaged India's ties with the United States and Canada, making it more difficult for them to fortify their connections with India as part of their plan to offset China's expanding might.
