The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday rejected allegations by the Canadian government that Indian agents were involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader in June.

"Allegations of Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated," the ministry said in a statement.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Monday that Canada has expelled a top Indian diplomat for his alleged involvement in the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The allegations against the Indian diplomat are very serious Joly said, adding that if these allegations were proven it would be a great violation of Canada's sovereignty.

India on Tuesday responded by giving a Canadian diplomat five days to leave the capital, Delhi.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that national security agencies are presently investigating "credible allegations" that the "agents of the government of India" could be involved in the killing.

"Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said on Monday.

Nijjar had been a prominent advocate of the Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish an independent homeland for the Sikh community in India's northwestern Punjab region. Nijjar was killed outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)