India on Wednesday advised its citizens to exercise caution when traveling to Canada, as the divide between the two nations widens following accusations from Ottawa that India may be involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in the suburbs of Vancouver.

New Delhi’s Foreign Ministry issued an updated travel advisory, urging its citizens, and particularly those studying in the North American country, to exercise caution due to “growing anti-Indian activities and politically tolerated hate crimes.”

Indians should also avoid places in Canada where “threats have been particularly directed against Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community who oppose the anti-Indian agenda,” the department said.

Ottawa and New Delhi, strategic socios in security and commerce, have entered into a diplomatic dispute since Canada’s first minister, Justin Trudeau, noted that India is in contact with the defender of independence on its territory. in June.

Canada has yet to provide evidence of India’s involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader killed by masked gunmen in Surrey, near Vancouver.

For years, India claimed that Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian citizen, had links to terrorism, a charge he denied. At the time of his assassination, Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on Indian independence.

Trudeau’s announcement was followed by Canada’s expulsion of an Indian diplomat to Ottawa. New Delhi responded by rejecting Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd and motivated”, and subsequently expelled a Canadian diplomat.

After the travel advisory was issued Wednesday, Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc declared Canada a safe country.

“What we are doing is ensuring that there is a proper criminal investigation into these circumstances,” he said.

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Robert Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.