By Krishn Kaushik, Sakshi Dayal and Promit Mukherjee NEW DELHI/OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada expelled six Indian diplomats including the high commissioner on Monday, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.

The accusations came more than a year after Canada linked India's government to the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb.

Canada and India expelled top diplomats from each other's countries as a standoff between the two governments over the murder of a prominent Sikh community leader intensified on Monday. The big picture: Officials in Canada say there's credible evidence linking Indian government officials to the shooting death on Canadian soil of of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar,