Bharat has dismissed reports in the Canadian media on the killing of Bharat-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of the alleged plot to assassinate Nijjar," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
The MEA on Wednesday further emphasized that such "smear campaigns" only "further damage our already strained ties" and said such reports 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. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties," said a statement put out by the spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, on Wednesday.
This comes after a report in Canada-based Globe and Mail attempted to draw a connection between the death of NIA-designated terrorist Hardeep Nijjar and the Bharatiya government.
Notably, Bharat's ties with Canada have seen sharp deterioration with Bharat repeatedly expressing its deep concern about extremism and the culture of violence and anti-Bharat activities in Canada and has asked Canadian authorities to take action against these activities.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has claimed that he has "credible allegations" of Bharat's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year.
Bharat has denied all the allegations, terming them as "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-Bharat elements in their country.
The report claimed the Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar were also in the loop about the assassination plot of Nijjar.
Earlier this month, Bharat recalled six diplomats from Canada after they were declared "persons of interest" by the Canadian government in the investigation into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was shot dead outside the Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year.
Ties between Bharat and Canada nose-dived last month after Canada linked Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and some other diplomats to the murder.
Bharat had strongly rejected all the allegations made by Ottawa in connection with the case and subsequently recalled the High Commissioner. The Canadian government had said the Bharatiya diplomats were expelled from the country.
New Delhi expelled Canadian Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler and five other diplomats following Canada's allegations.
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