‘Inaccurate’: Canada dismisses media report linking PM Modi to Nijjar killing

The Canadian government on Friday (November 22) dismissed a media report in Canada linking top Indian leaders to criminal activities in the country and called it “speculative and inaccurate”.

Nathalie G Drouin, national security and intelligence advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence of the claims made by a Canadian media house that cited unnamed officials.

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Her statement read, “On October 14^th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India. The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of the evidence linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada.”

She was referring to the report on Thursday (November 21) by Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper that quoted unnamed Canadian officials claiming that Indian leaders were aware of the plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed in Vancouver last year.

Ludicrous, says India

India on Thursday immediately dismissed the “ludicrous statements” by the Canadian newspaper.

“Such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already-strained ties,” said India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

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Diplomatic relations between the two countries took a turn for the worse after Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian agents were involved in the killing of the Sikh separatist Nijjar last year. India has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them “absurd and politically-motivated”.

After the Canadian government last month linked Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and other diplomats to the Nijjar killing, India pointed out that Canada has failed to provide any proof to substantiate its allegations despite repeated requests for evidence.