Co-operation ‘right next step,’ British say after Canada’s latest India allegations

By The Canadian Press on October 16, 2024.

OTTAWA – The British government says India should co-operate with Canada’s investigation into accusations that its government has been involved in an escalating number of violent crimes in Canada.

Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday after the RCMP said it had credible evidence that Indian agents played a role in extortion, coercion and murder of Canadian citizens on Canadian soil.

In a statement, the British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office says it’s in contact with Canada about the “serious developments,” outlined in Canada’s investigations.

The statement, attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, says the Indian government’s co-operation with Canada’s legal process “is the right next step.”

A U.S. State Department spokesman told a news conference Tuesday that the U.S. had long been asking India to co-operate with Canadian authorities, but he stopped short of commenting on the substance of the new claims.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in September 2023 that Canadian intelligence services were investigating credible information about a potential link between India’s government and the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist, in Surrey, B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

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