Canada expels Indian diplomat amid probe around Surrey Sikh leader’s killing

Canada has expelled a top Indian diplomat amid intelligence that suggests India was behind the killing of a high-profile Sikh leader in B.C.

The diplomat has been identified by Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly as the head of RAW — the Indian intelligence agency — in Canada.

She confirmed the news Monday, just shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canadian intelligence agencies were “actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of … Hardeep Singh Nijjar.”

“Since this was brought to our attention, we’ve been guided by three principles: the first one, we will seek the truth. The second one, we will protect Canadians at all times. And thirdly, we will protect Canada’s sovereignty,” Joly said. “I have conveyed these principles to my Indian counterpart, and I’ve also told him that we expect India’s full cooperation to make sure that we get to the bottom of this.

“As of today and as a consequence, we’ve expelled a top Indian diplomat from Canada.”

Nijjar was shot outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on June 18. He died at the scene.

The 45-year-old, who was the temple’s president, was a vocal advocate for an independent Sikh state of Khalistan in India, where he was accused of terrorism and conspiring to murder a Hindu priest.

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Joly says a main priority is to “seek the truth that will eventually lead to justice.”

“So we are limited in what we can say today because we want to protect, of course, the investigation,” she said. “What I can tell you is from the moment we learned, we acted. For my part, I’ve had conversations with my counterpart and also I’ve had conversations with key allies and will be working with them.”

Joly says she expects the government of India to “fully collaborate” with the investigation.

“Of course, today, we’re acting by expelling a key diplomat. But we will get to the bottom of this,” she added.

Related video: IHIT identifies car, seeking third suspect in Surrey Sikh leader shooting

Government officials were careful not to unveil too much information Monday, noting a homicide investigation into Nijjar’s death is ongoing.

“As Melanie said, this is also an active homicide investigation led by the RCMP in British Columbia, so one needs to be very careful to not prejudice the ability of law enforcement and, we hope, ultimately, prosecutors, to hold the perpetrators to account for this murder of a Canadian citizen,” said Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.