On Monday, Canada and India each expelled key diplomats from the other nation after Canada accused India of repeatedly attempting to spy on, intimidate, and kill Indian dissidents within its borders.

This latest diplomatic spat follows last year’s claims by Canada that India was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader, whom India labeled a “terrorist.”

During a press briefing on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canadian authorities have gathered “clear and compelling evidence” suggesting that Indian governmental agents are involved in dangerous activities that threaten public security.

He detailed these threats as including “covert information gathering methods, coercive actions directed at South Asian Canadians, and engagement in numerous violent acts, including murder.”

“This behavior is intolerable,” he emphasized.

In response to the allegations, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, leading India to retaliate by expelling six senior Canadian diplomats and withdrawing their own ambassador from Canada.

According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner Brigitte Gauvin, Indian operatives in Canada have also targeted the South Asian community through organized crime. She pointed to a group known as the “Bishnoi Group,” which has ties to the Indian government.

Lawrence Bishnoi, alleged by India’s National Investigation Agency to lead a criminal network, is currently facing trial on terrorism charges in western Canada.

In a statement released on Monday, the Indian government claimed it withdrew its diplomats after Canada identified them as “persons of interest” in a domestic investigation. “The Government of India firmly dismisses these outrageous claims and attributes them to the political motives of the Trudeau administration,” stated the Indian Foreign Ministry.

Assassination of Sikh leader on Canadian land sparks diplomatic tensions

The diplomatic relations between Canada and India deteriorated following the shooting of Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver with a significant Sikh community, in June of last year.

Nijjar, aged 45, was a prominent figure advocating for an independent Sikh state and led the Khalistan Tiger Force, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by India. He was also the head of a Sikh temple in Surrey.

India’s pursuit of Nijjar began in 2007, linked to a bombing incident at a movie theater in Punjab, although he had already relocated to Canada and obtained citizenship in 2015.

The Canadian government’s suspicions regarding India’s involvement in Nijjar’s murder led to a halt in discussions about a trade agreement and reciprocal expulsion of diplomats in September.

Later that year, U.S. authorities reportedly intercepted a plan by an Indian agent to kill a Sikh leader on American soil.