Sanjay Kumar Verma, the former Indian High Commissioner to Canada, has slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for “destroying” their bilateral relationship for “political” reasons. He has been recalled by New Delhi amid a spiraling diplomatic row between the two nations.

In an interview with Canadian channel CTV News aired on Sunday, Verma denied Ottawa’s allegations that he and the Indian government were involved in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

Verma was recalled after Canada alleged that he and other senior diplomats were “persons of interest” in the Nijjar murder probe. He has claimed that members of the extremist Khalistan movement, which seeks the creation of a separate nation state for the Sikh community, “are being encouraged all the time” in Canada.

“This is my allegation; I’m not providing any evidence for it, but I also know that some of these Khalistani extremists and terrorists are deep assets of [Canadian intelligence agency] CSIS,” he said in a conversation with the broadcaster.

RT