India has rejected a Canadian media report alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of the plot to kill Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader. Nijjar was murdered in a Toronto suburb last year, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later publicly accused the Indian government of orchestrating the attack.

Citing a senior national security official, the Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday that Canadian security agencies believe that Modi – as well as Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar – were aware of the plan to kill Nijjar as well as other “violent plots.”

Jaishankar responded by describing the allegations as “ludicrous,” while an Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that “smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.” He added that New Delhi “has consistently maintained that it does not condone any acts of violence against individuals, nor does it support any form of terrorism.” The ministry also insisted that India is committed to addressing national security issues through lawful means.

The latest allegations come weeks after Canadian officials named Indian Home Minister Amit Shah in connection with the killing of Nijjar – a claim New Delhi has also rejected as “absurd and baseless.”

Ties between the two nations have been strained ever since Trudeau has alleged India’s role in targeting Sikh separatists leaders on Canadian soil. Khalistan supporters advocate for the establishment of a separate nation-state for Sikhs carved out of India’s Punjab state.

RT