New Delhi on Tuesday rejected what it called "absurd accusations" made by the Canadian government of involvement in the assassination of a Canadian-born Sikh leader in western Canada in June.
India's foreign ministry said in a statement that "allegations of Indian government involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated." "We are a democracy with a strong commitment to the rule of law."
The reaction of the Indian Foreign Ministry came a day after the Canadian government announced that it had expelled an Indian diplomat on suspicion of links to the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Negar in front of a Sikh temple in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, without Canadian authorities charging a specific party.
Diplomatic expulsion
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said the possible involvement of a foreign government representative in the assassination of a citizen in Canada is totally unacceptable.
"So today we expelled from Canada a senior Indian diplomat," she said, without naming him.
Addressing the House of Commons, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "Over the past weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a possible link between Indian government agents and the killing of Canadian citizen Nigar."
Violation of sovereignty
"Any involvement of a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty and contrary to the basic rules by which free, open and democratic societies behave," Trudeau said.
Trudeau called on India to join the investigation to get to the point.
Hardeep Singh Negar, who was shot dead in June, was the head of a Sikh temple and an advocate of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Nigar was wanted by the Indian authorities for involvement in terrorist acts, which he has always denied. Since the killing of the Sikh leader, tensions between Canada and India have escalated.