Justin Trudeau calls his officials 'criminals' over leak, fake report on Indian leaders (WATCH)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called his own intelligence officials "criminals" for linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to violence on Canadian soil.

Amid heightened diplomatic tension with India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called his own intelligence officials "criminals" for linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to violence on Canadian soil. The development came two days after Globe and Mail published a report alleging that PM Modi knew about the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval were also in the loop.

Addressing media in Brampton on Friday, Trudeau said, "We have seen, unfortunately, that criminals leaking top-secret information to the media have consistently gotten those stories wrong."

"That's why we had a national enquiry into foreign interference, which has highlighted that criminals leaking information to media outlets are unreliable on top of being criminals," he added.

Canada, on Thursday, fact-checked and denied a report linking top Indian leaders to criminal activities on Canadian soil. 

In a statement posted on a government website, Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau's intelligence adviser, said, "The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of the evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate."

Last month, the Canadian foreign ministry alleged Union Home Minister Amit Shah was behind a campaign of intimidation in Canada. Ottawa says it has evidence linking Indian government agents to the 2023 murder of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who held a Canadian passport.