India on Monday asked Canadian diplomats in New Delhi to leave the country by Saturday after Ottawa said it was investigating its Indian ambassador and other diplomats as “persons of interest”, after the killing last year of a Sikh separatist leader.

In a tit-for-tat move, Canada too has asked six Indian diplomats to leave the country after its police collected evidence they were part of an Indian government “campaign of violence”.

“The Government of India has decided to expel the following 6 Canadian Diplomats: Mr. Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner; Mr. Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner; Ms. Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary; Mr. lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary; Mr. Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary; Ms. Paula Orjuela, First Secretary. They have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 PM on Saturday, October 19, 2024,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press statement.