Canada police charge three with murder of Sikh leader Nijjar, probe India link

Men hang a sign that reads "Shaheed Nijjar is still alive in our hearts" prior to a press conference held at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, site of the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada May 3, 2024. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian police on Friday arrested and charged three Indian men with the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year and said they were probing whether the men had ties to the Indian government.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. A few months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited evidence of Indian government involvement, prompting a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.