In a context of tense diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Ottawa, the Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison alleged on Tuesday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had authorized a “campaign to intimidate or kill” Sikh separatists in Canada, Radio-Canada News reported.

Morrison made the remarks during a Hearing of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on “election interference and criminal activities in Canada by agents of the Government of India”.

The committee reviews the laws, policies and spending plans of Canadian government departments responsible for public safety, national security, policing, emergency management, crime prevention and border protection .

Morrison testifying before lawmakers about Royal Canadian Mounted Police decision allegation October 14, agents of the Indian government were complicit in widespread crimes in Canada.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the committee discussed The Washington Post October 14 report, which cited unidentified Canadian officials as saying that Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder near Vancouver in June 2023 was “part of a broader campaign of violence against Indian dissidents” orchestrated by a senior Indian official and an agent of the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.

Canadian officials reportedly identified the Indian official who authorized the information-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists as Shah.

“Journalists called me and asked me if it was this person (Shah),” News from Radio-Canada Morrison quoted Morrison as telling the committee. “I confirmed it was this person.”

This is the first time a Canadian official has officially alleged that Shah was involved in the affair.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme also told the committee that evidence showed Indian diplomats and consular staff were collecting information for the Indian government, Radio-Canada News reported.

This information was used to give instructions to “criminal organizations to commit acts of violence in Canada,” he added.

Duheme also claimed that there was evidence of credible and imminent threats against members of the South Asian community, particularly supporters of Khalistan, which is an independent nation for Sikhs that some members of the community seek to extract from India.

The commissioner also said police have warned 13 Canadians since September 2023 that they could be targets of harassment or threats from Indian agents, Radio-Canada News reported.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada have been tense for more than a year.

In September 2023, Trudeau told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations» linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s murder.

Nijjar was a supporter of Khalistan. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, designated as a terrorist group in India.

New Delhi had rejected Canada’s allegations as “absurd and motivated” and said it was an attempt by Ottawa to distract from the fact that it was providing shelter to those who threatened India’s sovereignty. India had also ordered Canada to withdraw more than 40 diplomats from the country.

On October 14, the Indian government declared that it withdraw its high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and some other diplomats from the North American country. He also announced that he had expelled six Canadian diplomats. Ottawa also said it had expelled six Indian diplomats, but Delhi maintained that staff had been removed before the Canadian decision.

This happened while New Delhi rejected diplomatic communication from Canada naming Verma and other Indian envoys as “persons of interest” in an investigation in the country.

Although it was unclear which investigation Ottawa was referring to, reports indicated it was linked to that of Nijjar murder in Canada.

On October 16, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had intelligence but no “concrete evidence” when he first went public with allegations that Indian government agents may have been involved in Nijjar.