US 'deeply concerned' over Canada's allegations on India's link to Sikh activist's murder

NEW YORK

The US expressed deep concern Monday over allegations by Canada that link India to the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist.

"We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau earlier today," said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement provided to Anadolu.

"We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice," said the statement.

It came hours after Trudeau revealed that over the past few weeks, "Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar."

Nijjar, a Sikh leader in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, was shot to death on June 18 in front of a Sikh temple in the city of Surrey. No arrests have been made. A Canadian citizen, he was a vocal supporter of a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state in India.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said that Canada expelled a "top Indian diplomat" and expects India's full collaboration "to get to the bottom of this."

According to reports, the diplomat was Pavan Kumar Rai, the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's foreign intelligence agency, in Canada.

India’s Foreign Ministry called the allegations "absurd and motivated."

Relations with India were already strained to the point that two weeks ago, the Canadian government postponed a trade mission to India slated for Oct. 9.