Diplomats expelled as Canada accuses India of engaging in 'serious' crime

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- An extraordinary diplomatic situation involving "serious criminal activity" by Indian government officials has forced the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to break protocol and speak publicly about ongoing threats to Canada's homeland and its South Asian population, the RCMP said Monday.

Also on Monday, the unfolding developments compelled both India and Canada to expel each other's diplomats.

In an afternoon press conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was critical of India's government, saying more has yet to be publicly revealed.

"It is not our normal process to publicly disclose information about ongoing investigations, in an effort to preserve their integrity," read part of a RCMP statement . "However, we feel it is necessary to do so at this time due to the significant threat to public safety in our country."

On Monday, a Canadian government official said Canada issued a "persona non grata" note in the morning, expelling India's High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with other diplomats, The New York Times reported.

According to Canadian authorities, internal investigations had revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada allegedly leveraged their official positions to "engage in clandestine activities," such as collecting information for the government of India directly or through a proxy along "violent" extremist crimes and other criminal activities.

By Monday afternoon, Canada's Trudeau said India made a "fundamental error in thinking they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil."

The Canadian government said there is a "violent extremism threat" in the country and that has negatively affected Canada's ability to collaborate with India's government over that and other matters.

"We don't want diplomatic confrontation with India," said Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.

"It is sitting diplomas involved," she said as she also noted the Canadian investigation is different from a similar but separate ongoing investigation by the U.S. government.

Trudeau said India's actions have been "to deny, to obfuscate, to attack" as investigations have been underway.

India's actions, according to Trudeau, were "absolutely unacceptable for any country, any democracy that upholds the rule of law," which he said is why he says RCMP made its announcement on Monday.

Trudeau noted that "these are ongoing investigations that are in front of court in some situations." And others "that will end up in court in coming months," he said.

In its own moves, India on Monday pulled other diplomats out of Ottawa, citing "an atmosphere of extremism and violence" that has endangered the safety of its diplomatic corps. Further, Indian government officials also expelled six Canadian diplomats from Asia, including the embassy's second-highest-ranking diplomat.

In addition, well over a dozen "credible and imminent threats" to Canadian life have led to law enforcement to give warnings to the South Asian community, specifically on members of the pro-Khalistan movement, for their own safety.

According to the RCMP, a few days ago Canada's Deputy Commissioner of Federal Policing Mark Flynn reportedly "made attempts" to meet with his Indian counterparts "to discuss violent extremism occurring in Canada and India, and present evidence pertaining to agents of the Government of India's involvement in serious criminal activity in Canada."

"These attempts were unsuccessful," according to the RCMP.

Over the weekend, Flynn and other top Canadian government officials such as National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs David Morrison met with Indian government officials in person.

Over the last few years, Canada's law enforcement agencies, including the Mounties, have been part of this investigation that has charged a "significant number" of individuals for alleged direct involvement in homicides, extortions "and other criminal acts of violence," the government said.

This year in February, the RCMP created a "multidisciplinary team" to investigate and coordinate efforts to combat ongoing threats. The team, according to officials, "learned a significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the Government of India, and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada."

Yet, despite law enforcement action, "the harm has continued, posing a serious threat to our public safety."

"We reached a point where we felt it was imperative to confront the Government of India and inform the public about some very serious findings that have been uncovered through our investigations," according to Canadian government officials.

Via a national task force and through other efforts, the Canadian government alleges evidence of four "very serious" issues, which include:

• "Violent extremism" that Canada said is "impacting both" India and Canada
• Links that tie Indian government agents to homicides and other violent acts
• The use of organized crime "to create a perception of an unsafe environment" targeting Canada's South Asian Community
• "Interference into democratic processes."

In addition, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, evidence also shows that a "wide variety" of entities in Canada and abroad "have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information."

"Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community."

Meanwhile, evidence was "presented directly" to Indian government officials. Canadian officials reportedly urged cooperation in stemming the violence and

Canada requested that "our law enforcement agencies work together to address these issues."

The RCMP "is hoping to address these threats" through relationships with India government officials and the National Investigation Agency with the end goal of "strengthening the safety and security of the Canadian public and South Asian community," it added.

While RCMP policy has been to not comment on ongoing investigations so as "to preserve operational integrity," the RCMP says it will keep the public updated as things develop.

"We recognize the concern and fear people might be feeling when seeing this news and we recognize that South Asians are victims of the activities we're investigating," the police force said.

"We want to assure all Canadians that their safety and security is at the forefront of everything we do and we urge the public and South Asian communities to remain calm and give law enforcement and Canadian officials time to continue discussions," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in its Monday afternoon statement.