India warned Canada of "further damage" to already strained ties after Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew about a purported campaign targeting Sikh activists.
Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India and includes activists for "Khalistan", a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory.
Ottawa has previously accused India of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of 45-year-old naturalised Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Khalistan campaigner, and targeting other Sikh activists connected to the movement.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead by masked gunmen outside the Sikh temple he presided over after being wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism offences and conspiracy to commit murder -- accusations he denied.
India has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, which have sent diplomatic relations into freefall, with both nations last month expelling another round of senior diplomats.
New Delhi has previously denied that interior minister Amit Shah had plotted to target Sikh activists on Canadian soil, and officially rebuked Ottawa over what it said was an "absurd and baseless" allegation.
The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that Canadian security agencies "believe" Modi knew about the alleged campaign targeting Canadian Sikh activists.
"Such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve," India's foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.
"Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties."
The newspaper quoted an unnamed Canadian official as having said that Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and national security advisor Ajit Doval were "also in the loop".
"The assessment is that it would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Mr. Modi before proceeding," the official told the Toronto daily.
-AFP
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