India condemns Canadian report claiming Modi was aware of plot to kill Sikh separatist Nijjar

India has rubbished a Canadian media report accusing Indian prime minister Narendra Modi of being aware of an alleged plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader on Canada’s soil, terming it “ludicrous”.

A report by Canada’s The Globe and Mail on Wednesday said the Hindu leader was aware of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent separatist leader, in British Columbia and other violent plots, citing Canadian security agencies.

The remarks were shared with the leading newspaper by a senior national security official who was investigating intelligence on New Delhi’s alleged foreign-interference operations in Canada.

India’s home affairs minister Amit Shah, intelligence chief Ajit Doval, and foreign affairs minister S Jaishanker were also tied to the assassination operation plotted abroad, the official claimed, according to the report.

Reacting sharply to the report in New Delhi, Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such “ludicrous statements” should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.

“We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” he said. “Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties,” Mr Jaiswal said on Wednesday.

This is not the first time senior Indian officials have been explicitly named by Canada in assassination plot to take out separatist leaders of Khalistan movement who are seeking a separate nation for Sikhs in India.

Last month, Canada said Mr Shah, who is the right-hand man of Mr Modi, was behind plots to target Sikh separatists in Canada, taking the bilateral tensions, on the already strained ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, further.

The allegation followed Canada’s expulsion of six Indian diplomats it has linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, with India immediately reciprocating in equal measure.

India has previously denied Canadian allegations and has responded by expelling Canadian six diplomats.

Shortly after, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said India made "a horrific mistake" by thinking it could interfere as aggressively as it allegedly did in Canada’s sovereignty.

The diplomatic row, which has steadily boiled over in the past one year, can impact India’s ambitions as it tries to project itself as a rising world power and also backpedal Indo-Canada relations severely.

“India-Canada bilateral relations, which have been on a downslide since last year, will take a further hit, which will take a long time to repair,” said Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Mr Modi and Mr Trudeau were seen in Rio, Brazil, this week when the two leaders came together in the same frame for a G20 Summit family photo. But the two were not seen exchanging words.