US calls on India to cooperate with Canada in murder probe

WASHINGTON: The United States (US) has called on India to cooperate with Canada in the investigation of Sikh leader murder, ARY News reported.

The State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller in response to ARY News reporter said that the US is concerned about the current situation between India and Canada and the US is in contact with both governments.

Mathew Miller stated that the accusations leveled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are very serious and a fair investigation must be conducted.

Earlier a senior Canadian government source said that Canada worked “very closely” with the United States on intelligence that Indian agents had been potentially involved in the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia earlier this year.

“We’ve been working with the U.S. very closely, including on the public disclosure yesterday,” the source said. The evidence in Canada’s possession would be shared “in due course”, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called on India to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and said Canada would not release its evidence.

Trudeau said that Ottawa had credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi. Najjar, 45, was a Canadian citizen.

The Canadian government has amassed both human and signals intelligence in a months-long investigation into the Sikh separatist leader’s murder.

It is pertinent to mention here that the victim, Najjar, was brutally murdered outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., Canada on June 18 and was reportedly being warned by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that he was at risk.