<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Indian government could be behind the fatal shooting of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.</span><br></p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on 18 June in British Columbia (BC).</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Trudeau said Canadian intelligence has identified a "credible" link between his death and the Indian state.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">He raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the recent G20 summit, he said.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Mr Trudeau said on Monday in the House of Commons.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves."</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">India has previously denied any involvement with Mr Nijjar's murder.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Canada also expelled an Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, on Monday over the case, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters following Mr Trudeau's remarks.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">The BBC has contacted the Indian embassy in Canada for comment.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Ms Joly said Canadian officials are limited in what they can say in public about the case due to the ongoing homicide investigation into Mr Nijjar's death.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Investigators have previously categorised the 45-year-old's death as a "targeted incident".</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Nijjar was shot dead in his vehicle by two masked gunmen on a mid-June summer evening in the busy car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, a city about 30km (18 miles) east of Vancouver.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">He was a prominent Sikh leader in the western-most province of British Columbia and publicly campaigned for Khalistan - an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region of India. His supporters have said that he was a target of threats in the past because of his activism.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">India has previously described him as a terrorist who led a militant separatist group - accusations his supporters call "unfounded".</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Trudeau said Canada has expressed its concerns about Mr Nijjar's death to high-level security and intelligence agencies in India.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">He also raised it with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">"I continue to ask with a great deal of firmness that the government of India co-operate with Canada to shed light on this situation," he said.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Trudeau said that Mr Nijjar's shooting has angered Canadians, leaving some fearful for their safety.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Some Sikh groups in Canada, including the World Sikh Organisation, welcomed the prime minister's statement, saying Mr Trudeau confirmed what was already widely believed in the community.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">There are an estimated 1.4 to 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin. The country has the largest population of Sikhs outside the state of Punjab in India.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Trudeau's remarks come after his tense meeting with Mr Modi last week during the G20 summit in India.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">During that meeting, according to a statement from the Indian government, Mr Modi accused Canada of not doing enough to quell "anti-India activities of extremist elements", referring to the Sikh separatist movement in the country.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Canada also recently suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement with India. It gave few details on why, but India cited "certain political developments".</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Nijjar is the third prominent Sikh figure to have died unexpectedly in recent months.</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">In the UK, Avtar Singh Khanda, who was said to be the head of the Khalistan Liberation Force, died in Birmingham in June under what has been described as "mysterious circumstances".</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">Paramjit Singh Panjwar, who was designated a terrorist by India, was shot dead in May in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province. BBC</p><p style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</p>