India expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

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India has expelled a Canadian diplomat with five days' notice to leave the country, just hours after Ottawa expelled the South Asian nation's top intelligence agent and accused it of a role in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader.

The development was the latest in an escalating row between the two nations, with Canada saying on Monday it was "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder in British Columbia in June.

The Canadian high commissioner, or ambassador, in New Delhi had been summoned and told of the expulsion decision, India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, India dismissed the Canadian accusation as "absurd and motivated" and urged it instead to take legal action against anti-Indian elements operating from its soil.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population.