India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens because of security threats to its staff in its consulates in Canada, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleges Indian agents were potentially linked to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
What happened outside the Surrey gurdwara when Nijjar was killed?
In its initial statement on the shooting that killed Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada’s federal police agency said they were called to the scene around 8:27pm local time and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds in a car.
“The man died of his injuries at the scene,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.
The RCMP said a few days later that its homicide investigation team “learned that two suspects, described as heavier set males, wearing face coverings, fled the scene on foot”.
“It’s believed that the suspects may have had a vehicle waiting for them.”
Canada says diplomats in India received ‘threats’ on social media
The High Commission of Canada in India has said its staff members received “threats on various social media platforms”.
“Global Affairs Canada will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of all our personnel, including locally-engaged staff, and to protect our operations in India,” the commission said in a statement, as reported by CBC.
“In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here.”
