India 'convicted' in pro-Khalistan terrorist Nijjar's murder before conclusion of probe: Indian High Commissioner to Canada
Ottawa: Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma has slammed Canada for "convicting" India in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar even before the investigation of the murder on Canadian soil was not fully concluded.
India has urged Canada to furnish supporting evidence to prove its allegations that New Delhi had a role in the killing of Nijjar.
Asserting the point, the Indian representative emphasized that New Delhi is willing to probe any information that is "precise and pertinent" and is shared to substantiate Justin Trudeau's accusations.
In a conversation with the CTV news channel, the high commissioner responded to the issues raised by Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada concerning the possible role of the Indian government in the death of Hardeep Nijjar.
Responding to this, Verma said, "There are two points on that. One is that, even without the investigation being concluded, India was convicted. Is that a rule of law?"
On being asked "How was India convicted", the high commissioner said, "Because India was asked to cooperate and if you look at the typical criminal terminology, when someone asks to cooperate, it means you have already been convicted and you better cooperate".
"So, we took it in a very different interpretation. But we have always said that if there is anything very specific and relevant, and communicated to us. We will look into it," the Indian envoy added.
Relations between India and Canada have become tense following accusations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who accused India of involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist, on Canadian territory earlier this year.
Nijjar was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, on June 18.