Canada on Thursday said it withdrew 41 diplomats from India after the Indian government threatened to revoke the immunity of the officials.

The move came amid a growing diplomatic spat between the two countries, after Ottawa accused New Delhi of involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver last month.

On Friday, Canada's High Commission in India said it was suspending in-person operations in the cities of Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai. It added that applicants from India can expect delays in processing times over the next few months.

It said that in-person consular services will still be available at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi.

What did Canada say?

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday that 41 of its 62 diplomats have been removed from India alongside their 42 dependents. 

"Given the implications of India's actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India," she told a news conference.

She added that exceptions have been made for 21 Canadian diplomats who will remain in India.

"If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. So for this reason, we will not reciprocate," Joly said. 

What prompted the spat?

India asked Canada last month to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Indian agents were linked to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Sikh separatist leader, whom India claimed had links to terrorism, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in June. He was a dual Canadian citizen.

India dismissed Trudeau's suspicions as absurd. India's Foreign Ministry then called on Ottawa to reduce its diplomats in the country, arguing that they outnumbered India's staffing in Canada.

rmt/wd (AFP, Reuters, AP)