Canada conducting 'tainted' probe in Nijjar murder case, hasn't shared anything India can assist it with: Indian envoy

Canada has not provided any information on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case related to Khalistan separatism that India can assist it with, said Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa Sanjay Verma.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Verma said that India has not been presented with concrete evidence by Canada or its allies implicating Indian agents in the killing of Najjar.

Verma also accused Canada of carrying out a “tainted” probe into the killing. He urged the Canadian government to provide evidence supporting its claim that agents of the Indian government were responsible for the murder of a prominent Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.

The mutual recriminations that have arisen since the murder claim have put significant strain on the long-standing relationship between the two countries. However, India dismissed Canadian allegations as “absurd”.

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Since then, neither New Delhi nor Ottawa looks likely to take dramatic steps to reconcile soon as Canada’s murder investigation proceeds and Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for Indian national elections by May.

“There is no specific or relevant information provided in this case for us to assist them in the investigation,” Mr. Verma said. “Where is the evidence? Where is the conclusion of the investigation? I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted. A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it,” Verma told The Globe and Mail.

Earlier, India took concrete steps including suspending the issuance of visas to Canadian nationals declaring a Canadian diplomat as PNG and applying the principle of parity in the strength of the Canadian High Commission in Delhi with that of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa.

India argued that Canadian diplomats were interfering in India’s internal affairs. Thus, the implicit grounds for requesting the withdrawal of Canadian diplomats were their interference in India’s domestic affairs. Under the Vienna Convention, no diplomat is permitted to do so.