India-Canada row: Blinken calls on Delhi to cooperate in push for ‘accountability’ over killing

A memorial on Friday for Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader who was shot and killed earlier this year, at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Antony Blinken has urged India to cooperate with an investigation. Photograph: Ethan Cairns/EPA

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called on India to cooperate with Canada and ensure “accountability” over the killing of a Sikh separatist, after Ottawa accused Delhi of involvement.

Blinken said the United States has been in touch with both India, with which it has warming ties, and Canada, a close ally, after the two countries engaged in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.