India withdrawing high commissioner from Canada

India is pulling its high commissioner after accusing Canada of endangering their safety “in an atmosphere of extremism and violence.”

India announced the move in a statement Monday, shortly after an earlier memo accused the Canadian government of suggesting the Indian high commissioner to Canada is among “persons of interest” in the investigation into the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader.

The Indian government says a diplomatic communication sent Sunday from the Canadian government made the allegations.

The statement suggests the Indian high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and other Indian diplomats are being considered “persons of interest” in the investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C. in June 2023.

Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in the House of Commons in September there were “credible allegations” the Indian government may have been involved in Nijjar’s death.

India is rejecting the assertions, calling them part of a political agenda centred around “vote bank politics.”

India also continues to say the federal government has yet to share evidence related to the investigation with the Indian government.

CTV News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada and the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly for comment.

Last October, India expelled a Canadian diplomat and stripped the diplomatic immunity from dozens of other envoys.

In an interview with CTV’s Question Period with Vassy Kapelos, Verma said the decision was made in part due to the “emotional element,” but insisted that relations between the two countries were improving.

Verma also insisted that India was “absolutely” and “decidedly” not involved in the death of Nijjar.

In May, the RCMP laid murder charges against four Indian nationals in connection to the killing of Nijjar.

Three men, 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh, 22-year-old Kamalpreet Singh and 22-year-old Karan Brar, were living in Edmonton at the time of the arrests while a fourth, 22-year-old Amandeep Singh, was already in custody in Ontario on unrelated firearms charges.

All four each face one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. 

At the time, RCMP Asst. Commissioner David Teboul, commander of the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, stressed that the murder remains “very much under active investigation.”

“There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today, and these efforts include investigating connections to the government of India,” Teboul said.

RCMP also noted they were aware that others may have played a role in Nijjar’s murder.

With files from CTV News’ Andrew Weichel and Spencer Van Dyk