India on Tuesday expelled a Canadian diplomat and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs, escalating confrontation between the two nations over accusations that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh activist .

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured that Canada was not seeking to inflame tensions, but asked India to take the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar seriously, after the Indian government called the killings “absurd”. accusations that he was involved in the crime.

“India and the Indian government need to take this issue very seriously,” Trudeau told reporters outside Parliament on Tuesday.

“We are doing it. We are not trying to provoke or make the situation worse. “We are simply presenting the facts as we see them and we want to work with the Indian government to clarify things and ensure there are appropriate processes.”

Trudeau said Monday his government was investigating allegations that India was involved in the killing of Niijar, 45, who was shot dead in June in British Columbia. Then, on Monday, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat.

The two expulsions worsen tensions between Canada and India. Trudeau had tense meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, and days later Canada canceled a trade mission that would visit India in the coming months.

The movement for an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan, has been suppressed by the Indian government since the 1980s, when a Sikh insurgency broke out that lasted more than 10 years. It was crushed by a crackdown that left thousands dead, including prominent Sikh leaders.

Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was wanted by Indian authorities who had for years accused him of having links to terrorism and offered him a cash reward for information leading to his arrest. Nijjar denied the allegations and was working with a group known as Sikhs for Justice to organize an unofficial referendum among diaspora Sikhs on whether Sikhs should gain independence from India.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice, said Nijjar had received notifications from Canadian intelligence that he might be killed by “mercenaries.”

Niijar’s son, Baraj Singh Nijjar, said Tuesday that his family and the entire Sikh community were relieved by the measures taken by the Canadian government.

“From day one, we had the idea that if anything happened to him, the Indian government would be involved,” the son said.

“It was only a matter of time before the truth came out. Finally, it appears that the Indian government is involved in this matter. “This is a very serious case of foreign interference,” he added.

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Gillies reported from Toronto. Correspondents Aamer Madhani in New York, Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this story.