Canada on Thursday rejected local media reports suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the know of the plot to kill Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

“The government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, (external affairs) minister (S.) Jaishankar, or NSA (Ajit) Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate,” Canada’s national security and intelligence adviser Nathalie G. Drouin said in a statement.

The clarification was issued after Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that “Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and other violent plots”.

The newspaper claimed that Jaishankar and national security adviser Doval were in the loop. On the Prime Minister, the report said: “While Canada does not have direct evidence that Mr Modi knew, the official said the assessment is that it would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Mr Modi before proceeding.”

The external affairs ministry had trashed the report with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying: “We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.”

Bilateral ties are at an all-time low now since Canada “expelled” six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, last month, calling them “persons of interest” in the Nijjar killing. Canada wanted India to waive their diplomatic immunity to be able to question them but Delhi, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing, rejected the request and moved to withdraw the diplomats from Ottawa.