By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that India must “take seriously” allegations it was complicit in the killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar -- a charge the Indian government called “absurd.”
And in a tit-for-tat move, relations between the two countries hit rock bottom as India expelled top Canadian diplomat Olivier Sylvestre on Tuesday after Canada kicked out Indian diplomat Pavan Kumar Rai on Monday.
The row concerns the June 18 murder of Nijjar, who was gunned down in front of a Sikh temple in the city of Surrey in the Canadian West Coast province of British Columbia. No arrests have been made.
New Delhi considered Nijjar a terrorist as he was a vocal supporter of a break-away independent Khalistani state in the Punjab region. His supporters reject the terrorist label.
Trudeau told the Canadian parliament that there was “credible” evidence that India was complicit in the murder. He urged India to cooperate with the investigation. Tuesday, he urged India to take the charge seriously.
"One of the things that is so important today is that India and the government of India take seriously this matter," Trudeau told reporters Tuesday on Parliament Hill. "It is extremely serious and it has far-reaching consequences in international law.
"We're going to follow the evidence and make sure that the work is done to hold people accountable."
New Delhi firmly rejected the "absurd" allegations.
"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, " India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Tuesday in a statement.