WASHINGTON: The United States has called upon India to cooperate with Canada in a probe regarding the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Western media reported on Wednesday.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement said that the US was deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau.
“We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice,” she said.
Trudeau alleges India involved in killing
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday alleged that the agents of the Indian government were behind the murder of Nijjar in June and announced an investigation by Canadian intelligence.
Nijjar, a Sikh leader in the British Columbia, was shot dead on June 18 in front of a Sikh temple in Surrey.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoting a senior Canadian government source reported that Canada worked very closely with the United States on intelligence that Indian agents had been involved in the case.
The official said the evidence available with Canadian authorities would be shared “in due course”.
Prime Minister Trudeau on Tuesday told media that the case had consequences in international law and urged the Indian government to take the matter seriously and assist Canada to fully investigate the matter.
The PM added any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on its soil is an unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty.
Trudeau said it is against the fundamental laws by which free, open, and democratic societies conduct themselves.
Earlier Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said that an Indian diplomat, identified as the head of India’s intelligence service in Canada, would be expelled from the country.
India on the other hand gave a Canadian diplomat five days to leave India. India’s government says that Canada has been too lenient on individuals advocating for Khalistan.
Trudeau said that Canada’s response would be measured and he would discuss the issue with world leaders. Nijjar is the fourth Sikh activist mysteriously assassinated in over a year.
