'Speculative and inaccurate': Canada counters report linking PM Modi to Nijjar's murder plot

Canada has clarified controversial report that established a link between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, terming the media report as “speculative and inaccurate".

National security and intelligence advisor to Justin Trudeau, Nathalie G Drouin, in a statement, said that the Canadian government is "not aware" of any evidence of the claims made by a Canadian media house citing unnamed officials.

“On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India," the government said.

“The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate," it added while reacting to the media report.

Media report

This comes after The Globe and Mail, a reputed newspaper in Canada published an article linking PM Modi and NSA Doval into the controversy around the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. The report had cited an unnamed security official claiming that “Canadian security agencies believe that PM Modi “knew about Nijjar’s killing".

India had rejected The Globe and Mail report and termed it a “smear campaign".

Nijjar’s killing has led to tension between the two countries with Trudeau alleging that the Indian officials were involved in the incident while New Delhi had refuted claims as “absurd”.