India has expelled a Canadian diplomat amid an escalating row over the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The Indian government also dismissed allegations that it was linked to the killing of the activist in Canada as “absurd”.

It comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” that the Indian government was behind the assassination of Mr Nijjar earlier this year.

The Canadian citizen was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June.

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He had been a prominent supporter of the Khalistani separatist movement, which wants to establish an independent homeland for Sikhs in India, where they are a minority.

Mr Nijjar was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death

Alongside Mr Trudeau’s comments, Canada’s foreign ministry announced it had expelled a top Indian diplomat.

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India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the decision to expel a Canadian diplomat reflected the government’s “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities”.

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