OTTAWA – Canada’s police probe into the June murder of a Sikh separatist in British Columbia has been damaged by a high-level Canadian official’s public statements, India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma told The Globe and Mail newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

Canada has alleged that India was involved in the Vancouver murder of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India called a “terrorist”. India denies the allegation.

“I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted,” Mr Verma told the newspaper. “A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it.”

He did not name the high-level official.

However, on Sept 18, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India” and Mr Nijjar’s death.

The case has sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi in September asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence following Canada’s allegations over Mr Nijjar’s killing.

Mr Verma said that India has not been shown concrete evidence by Canada or Canada’s allies that Indian agents were involved in Mr Nijjar’s killing.

He said that despite the strained relations between the two countries, India would like to expand business ties and return to the negotiating table on a trade deal.

In September, Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, just three months after the two nations said they aimed to seal an initial agreement in 2023. REUTERS