'Those who leaked information against Modi are criminals'; Trudeau blames officials

OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has strongly criticized national security officials. He also called the officials who leaked highly classified information to the media as criminals. Trudeau's criticism came after a Canadian newspaper reported that Indian leaders were involved in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He was speaking to the media in Brampton on Friday.

Trudeau said that it was unfortunate that the officials who were criminals passed on classified information to the media. A Canadian media outlet had reported that an official had said that the conspiracy to kill Nijjar was with the knowledge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was denied by the government. Trudeau's response came after the government denied a media report that Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were informed about the murder.

Trudeau's intelligence advisor Natalie Drouin also responded to the incident. He clarified that the Canadian government has not issued a statement linking Modi or Jaishankar to serious criminal activities inside Canada. Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau had held talks at the G20 summit in Brazil. Trudeau changed his position after this.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in British Columbia, Canada on June 28. Canada had alleged that Indian agents were behind the murder. Following this, a severe diplomatic crisis arose between the two countries.