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The Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government on Friday denied a report linking top Indian leaders to criminal activities in Canada, saying it is "speculative and inaccurate".
In a statement days after a strong rebuttal from New Delhi, National security and intelligence advisor to Justin Trudeau, Nathalie G Drouin, said the Canadian government is "not aware" of any evidence of the claims made by a Canadian media house citing unnamed officials.
"On October 14th, 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," the statement read.
The report by Canada's 'Globe and Mail' newspaper on Thursday 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.
India immediately responded sharply to what it called "ludicrous claims", with External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the report a "smear campaign".
"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," Mr Jaiswal said.
India-Canada diplomatic crisis after Nijjar's killing
India-Canada diplomatic relations have nosedived after Justin Trudeau raised allegations that Indian agents were involved in the killing of Nijjar, a Sikh separatist and the mastermind behind the banned terror outfit 'Khalistan Tiger Force'. The Canadian Prime Minister claimed he had "credible allegations" of India's hand in the Nijjar killing.
India has repeatedly trashed the allegations, accusing Mr Trudeau of pandering to Khalistani sympathisers for domestic political gains at a time his popularity with Canadian voters is at an all-time low. India has also termed the allegations "absurd" and "politically motivated".
Last month, the Canadian government linked Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and some other diplomats to the killing. The Centre rejected the claims and pointed out that despite repeated requests for evidence, Canada had failed to share any substantive proof to substantiate its allegations.