OTTAWA: India will reopen visa services for Canadians, its embassy in Ottawa announced Wednesday, a move that could reduce tensions in a bitter dispute over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Relations between India and Canada plunged after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month publicly linked Indian intelligence to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, allegations New Delhi called “absurd.”

Nijjar, who advocated for a separate Sikh state carved out of India, was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.

Canada has called for India to cooperate in the investigation into his death and expelled an Indian diplomat over the affair.

New Delhi expressed outrage, and reacted by taking countermeasures such as shutting down visa services for Canadians.