Diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have been escalating since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian agent's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Amid a new row over the arrest of Nijjar's killers, India on Friday said that it has no information regarding reports claiming that Ottawa is moving in close to arresting the men believed to be responsible for the killing of the Sikh Separatist.
Canadian media, The The Globe and Mail, cited anonymous sources to report that the two suspected killers of Nijjar who had apparently not left Canada have been under police surveillance for months and are expected to be apprehended "in a matter of weeks".
"We certainly do not have any information on that," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during a media briefing.
Two of the sources also stated that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are expected to make arrests and lay charges in the coming weeks, The Globe and Mail reported.
Nijjar was shot dead outside Gurdwara in Canada's Surrey on June 18.
According to the sources, when the charges are laid against the two men, police will reveal their role as well as the Indian government's. The Globe is not naming the sources because they are not authorised to speak publicly about national security or police concerns.
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It is unclear whether the RCMP will arrest any suspected accomplices in the slaying.
At this time, the RCMP has not commented or given a response to questions from The Globe about the investigation and whether charges were imminent.
Earlier, in September this year, Trudeau alleged the involvement of "agents of the Indian government" in the killing of the Khalistani terrorist.
India rejected the allegations as "absurd and motivated" and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa asked a senior Indian diplomat to leave.
New Delhi also halted visa services to Canada but later decided to resume services for four categories after a "considered review of the security situation".
However, India had outrightly rejected the claims, calling it 'absurd' and 'motivated'. Notably, Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing, according to the MEA.
On November 12, Justin Trudeau had reaffirmed his allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India.
Trudeau had also accused New Delhi of violating the Vienna Convention by "kicking out" 40 diplomats at a time when his country had reached out to the former and other global partners to get to the bottom of the murder.
Tying the Nijjar killing to India's decision to strip the Canadian diplomats of their immunity, the Canadian PM had said, "That's why we were so disappointed when India violated the Vienna Convention and arbitrarily revoked the diplomatic immunity of over 40 Canadian diplomats in India...We have serious reasons to believe that agents of the government of India could have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil and India's response is to kick out a whole bunch of Canadian diplomats by violating their rights under the Vienna Convention."
"That is of concern to countries around the world because if a given country can just decide that their diplomats of another country are no longer protected, that makes international relations more dangerous and more serious. But every step of the way, we have tried to work constructively and positively with India, and we will continue to and that means continuing to work with Indian government diplomats. This is not a fight we want to be having right now but we will unequivocally always stand up for the rule of law," he had said.
(With agency inputs)