How Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder in Canada fuelled tensions with India

A prominent Sikh leader was brazenly murdered this summer outside a temple in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The death has outraged his supporters and intensified global tensions between Sikh separatists and the Indian government.

On a mid-June evening in the busy parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in the city of Surrey, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in his truck by two masked gunmen.

Months later, the unsolved killing continues to reverberate, in Canada and across borders. Hundreds of Sikh separatists took to the streets in Toronto, along with a handful others in cities like London, Melbourne and San Francisco, in early July to protest against the Indian government, which they believe is responsible for his death.

Most recently, in September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being behind Mr Nijjar's death, saying that Canadian intelligence had identified "credible allegations" of a link between his death and agents of the Indian state.

The Indian government has denied any hand in the murder.

The outrage following the 45-year-old's killing has brought to light a long-standing issue of some groups demanding a separate homeland for Sikhs, who are a religious minority that make up about 2% of India's population.