Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and other World leaders voiced concern to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, at the G20 summit earlier this month about claims of Canada that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Several leaders of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand raised the June slaying in British Columbia of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, with Indian PM Modi, the newspaper said, quoting three people familiar with the talks at the summit.
However, the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The summit took place in the Indian capital, New Delhi, days before Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, made his allegations shared in an address to the Canadian parliament earlier this week.
According to the newspaper report the leaders intervened at the G20 summit after Canada demanded its allies to present the case directly with Modi.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said earlier on Thursday that Washington is in contact with Indians at high levels after Ottawa’s claims about the killing of the Sikh separatist leader in Canada, and the US is offering New Delhi no “special exemption” in the case.
New Delhi has denied Canada’s allegations and called them “absurd.” The situation has placed a further dent in Canada-India ties. India on Thursday stopped new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
The crisis has set some Western countries in a tough situation as Canada has been a long-standing ally and partner while those nations are also aiming to create strong links with New Delhi to oppose the influence of China in the Asia Pacific region.
