India and Canada expel diplomats amid murder row

Canada and India have expelled each other's top ambassadors as a row over last year's assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil intensified.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" linking Indian diplomats and intelligence services to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – an activist who advocated for a separate Sikh state to be carved out of India. New Delhi rejected the accusation as "preposterous". Both countries have expelled six of the other's diplomats in tit-for-tat moves.

India has accused Trudeau of "pandering to Canada's large Sikh community for political gain", said the BBC. Canada, for its part, maintains that it has "evidence that cannot be ignored" linking India to the crime.

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Canadian police have accused Indian consular staff of "clandestine" and "criminal activities" in the country. The force has evidence of "agents" acting on behalf of the Indian government engaging in extortion, intimidation and harassment, said the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at a press conference.

"Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities," said Commissioner Mike Duheme.

These claims are the "first official glimpse from police into the scope and depth of India's alleged activities in Canada", said The Guardian.

Designating Indian diplomats as "persons of interest" takes the India-Canada spat over Nijjar's killing to "a new low", said The Economic Times. The allegations levelled by Trudeau, who is widely expected to lose the next election, are likely to "burden the next government with unwanted diplomatic baggage".

In the meantime, said Newsweek, "tensions between the two nations continue to rise".