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    • RCMP alleges Indian officials in Canada connected to extortion, homicides

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    The RCMP is alleging Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada engaged in clandestine activities linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions.

    The stunning allegations came as Canada announced it was connected to a "targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India."

    In what appears to be a tit-for-tat retaliation, India announced it is , including the top two diplomats stationed in New Delhi.

    Developments Monday mark the latest in an escalating confrontation between India and Canada that kicked off publicly last year when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating credible allegations that agents of the government of India were involved in the killing of a prominent Sikh activist.

    In an unexpected and unusual press conference Monday, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme outlined, in broad strokes, the alleged activity of Indian diplomats in Canada.

    "Investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion," Duheme told reporters.

    "Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the government of India. The information collected for the government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community," Duheme said.

    The evidence collected by the RCMP was presented directly to officials of the Indian government by Deputy RCMP Commissioner Mark Flynn, Canadian National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin and Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison over the weekend.

    Two Canadian officials familiar with the fast-evolving situation say Canada asked that India remove the diplomatic immunity of the implicated officials in Canada so that charges could be laid.

    The officials say India said no. Canada then submitted a diplomatic note saying the Indian officials would be expelled.

    In response, India announced it was withdrawing High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, and other "targeted diplomats and officials."

    One high-level Canadian official tells Â鶹´«Ã½ that the Indian High Commissioner was told he was a person of interest in the June 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

    Â鶹´«Ã½ is not naming the Canadian officials as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the case.

    "We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are 'persons of interest' in a matter related to an investigation in that country," reads a statement released by India's Ministry of External Affairs Monday.

    "The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote bank politics," the statement reads.

    A photograph of late temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen on a banner outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, in Surrey, B.C., Sept. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

    The Indian government is claiming Canada has not shared a "shred of evidence" and accused the Trudeau government of a "deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains."

    Later Monday, India announced it had decided to expel six Canadian diplomats, including Canada's acting High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler and Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Herbert.

    The six diplomats have been asked to leave India before Sunday, Oct. 20.

    The news of expulsions came after New Delhi announced it had summoned Wheeler, Canada's most senior diplomat in India, to protest the allegations.

    The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has long accused Canada of allowing pro-Khalistan "terrorists" to operate in Canada. The Khalistan movement seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region.

    The high-level Canadian official says in conversations with India over the past weeks, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, a prominent Canadian Sikh politician, was brought up multiple times, with India fighting back against the Canadian allegations by claiming the Trudeau government is biased because of its previous governing arrangement with Singh through the supply-and-confidence agreement.

    Trudeau is scheduled to hold a press conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc later this afternoon.

    Updates to follow.

    With files from Â鶹´«Ã½' Vassy Kapelos and Colton Praill

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