Canada expels Indian diplomats for violent criminal activities linked to India – LAW

Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Monday the expulsion of six Indian consular officials and diplomats after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) launched an organized crime investigation allegedly linked to the Indian government.

Based on the results of their investigation, the RCMP determined: “Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada used their official positions to engage in clandestine activities such as gathering intelligence for the Indian government, either directly or through their proxies; and other persons who acted voluntarily or under duress.” In addition, the Indian government’s widespread intelligence gathering in Canada, which often involved the use of coercion and threats, was used to subsequently harass members of the South Asian community in the country .

The report highlighted four key findings that the RCMP viewed as key themes in relations between the two countries:

1. Violent extremism affects both countries
2. Links the tying up of Indian agents to homicides and other acts of violence
3. The use of organized crime to create the impression of an unsafe environment that targets the South Asian community in Canada; And
4. Interference in democratic processes

During the investigation, Federal Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn said he made several attempts to contact Indian law enforcement officials and government officials and provided Indian officials with all evidence of these concerns.

In response, India’s foreign ministry accused the Canadian government of making the allegations for political purposes and of failing to cooperate with the government on extradition requests and evidence gathering related to “terrorists and organized crime leaders” in Canada. ““The Government of India strongly rejects these absurd insinuations and attributes them to the Trudeau government’s policy agenda focused on vote bank politics,” the statement said. The statement specifically alleges that the allegations are an attempt to distract from the ongoing investigation into foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian elections and to garner electoral support from supposedly “anti-India” advocates. Additionally, the statement also claims that the Indian government requested and did not receive evidence to support Canada’s allegations.

The expulsion of ambassadors is a strict diplomatic measure provided for by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. By notifying the sending state that an ambassador is persona non grata, the sending state removes the person in question or terminates his or her functions within the mission.

Tensions between the Canadian and Indian governments began to rise in 2023 following the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent pro-Khalistan advocate, in which US intelligence identified the Indian government as being involved. The murder caused a significant rift between Canada and India, prompting both states to expel diplomats and issue travel warnings against each other.