(Bloomberg) — Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah authorized a wave of violence across Canada that included extortion and killings, a senior Canadian government official said.

David Morrison, Canada’s deputy foreign minister, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that he had confirmed Shah’s identity in a newspaper article earlier this month.

The Washington Post reported that Canadian security agencies had collected evidence that “a senior official in India” had “authorized intelligence gathering missions and attacks against Sikh separatists” in Canada. The story goes on to say that a Canadian source identified Shah as the Indian official in question.

“The reporter called me and asked if it was that person,” Morrison said. “I confirmed it was this person.”

Morrison was appearing before the committee alongside other senior Canadian police and government officials over a diplomatic eruption two weeks ago that saw Canada expel India’s high commissioner and five others from the country diplomats, with India subsequently responding in kind.

A year earlier, India expelled 41 Canadian diplomats after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible” allegations that Narendra Modi’s government helped orchestrate the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. But instead of the matter ending there, Canadian officials say India has continued its violent campaign against activists in Canada.

India has rejected Canada’s allegations as “absurd” even as the United States has accused an Indian national and an Indian government employee of attempting to kill a Sikh activist on American soil. Modi’s government has launched an internal investigation into allegations that rogue agents were behind the plot, Bloomberg News reported.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the parliamentary committee on Tuesday that she personally attended a meeting where evidence was presented linking Indian agents and diplomats to Canada’s crime wave.

Drouin flew to Singapore for an Oct. 12 meeting with her Indian counterpart, during which both sides agreed to keep the matter under wraps while they worked to resolve it, she said.

“Instead, the Indian government chose to disregard our agreement and make it public the next day, Sunday October 13, and once again use its false narrative that Canada presented no evidence,” Drouin said during his testimony before a Canadian parliamentary committee. .

In response, Canadian police held an extraordinary press conference the next day to present their evidence, and the government announced it was expelling six Indian diplomats, including High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma.

Drouin said Canadian officials also decided at that time to inform international media about the evidence held by Canada, choosing the Washington Post.

In Singapore, Canadian officials provided evidence that Indian government agents in Canada collected information on certain Canadians, primarily Sikh activists, and then passed that information to an organized crime group to carry out extortion, assassination and murders, she said.

“Given the alarming nature of the evidence, we knew we had to act and act quickly,” Drouin testified. “We needed Indian government agents to stop their illegal activities in Canada and we sought a collaborative approach with Indian authorities. »

Drouin said Canadian officials have given India several options on how to proceed, including Canada’s preferred option of having India publicly open an investigation into the matter, similar to the approach adopted by India in the case of the assassination of the United States.

But she said India quickly made it clear it was not interested in that course of action.

“By publicizing the situation, the Indian government has made it clear that it is not going to be accountable or take the necessary measures to ensure public safety,” Drouin said.

Drouin ended his testimony by emphasizing that Canada did not act lightly and does not want to ruin its relations with India, especially in the broader context of having to counter China’s influence in the Indo- Peaceful.

“Canada remains open to cooperation with India, but we need meaningful engagement from India to address our serious and well-founded concerns,” she said.

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