CANADA & INDIA EXPEL DIPLOMATS AMID KHALISTAN LEADER'S MURDER PROBE

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down on 18 June 18 outside a Sikh cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia

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Canada and India have expelled a senior diplomat each after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of "agents of the Indian government" in the killing of a prominent Sikh separatist leader in Surrey in June, claims outrightly rejected by New Delhi as "absurd" and "motivated".

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.

"Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said Monday in a speech to the House of Commons.

After Trudeau's remarks in Parliament, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed that she has ordered the expulsion of "a senior Indian diplomat." Reacting sharply to the allegations and Joly's remarks, India on Tuesday rejected Trudeau's claims, calling them "absurd and motivated". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also asked a Canadian diplomat to leave India within the next five days.

"Allegations of the Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated," the MEA said in a statement on Tuesday in New Delhi.

"Similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to our Prime Minister, and were completely rejected," it said.

"We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to the rule of law," the MEA said. "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," it said.