The Canadian police have arrested three Indian nationals for the murder of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The suspects had been living in Canada as non-permanent residents. The three are reported to have played different roles as shooters, drivers and spotters on the day Nijjar was killed at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey in British Columbia. "We're investigating their ties, if any, to the Indian government," Mandeep Mooker, an RCMP superintendent, told a televised news conference.
The arrests come amid tense ties between India and Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
India has rubbished Trudeau's charges as "absurd" and "motivated."
During the press conference, Mooker, who leads the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said that the suspects "were not known to the police" before the investigation into Nijjar's death.
Mooker identified the suspects as Karan Brar, Karanpreet Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, all in their 20s. They were arrested in Edmonton.
Nijjar, 45, was gunned down outside his gurdwara in Surrey. He was a Canadian citizen. A report in Global News said that the suspects had entered Canada on student visas.
India had on Thursday rejected fresh comments by Prime Minister Trudeau on the killing of Nijjar and said the remarks once again illustrated the political space given in Canada to separatism, extremism, and violence. Trudeau addressed a Khalsa Day event in Toronto on Sunday that was attended by some pro-Khalistan supporters.
On the sidelines of the event, he told the media that the killing of Nijjar in British Columbia in June last year created a "problem" and that he cannot ignore it, in an apparent reference to his earlier allegations of involvement of Indian agents in the assassination. "PM Trudeau has made such remarks earlier as well. His remarks illustrate once again the political space that has been given in Canada to separatism, extremism, and violence," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi at his weekly media briefing.
"This not only impacts India-Canada relations but also encourages a climate of violence and criminality in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens," he said when asked about Trudeau's remarks. India on Monday also summoned the Canadian deputy high commissioner and lodged a strong protest with him over the raising of pro-Khalistan slogans at the event in the presence of Trudeau and several other leaders. Nijjar was a Khalistani separatist and he was wanted in India on various terror charges.