Canadian authorities have apprehended individuals suspected of being part of a hit squad allegedly hired by the Indian government to assassinate Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh separatist, in Surrey, British Columbia, last June.
According to sources close to the investigation, police are also looking into possible connections to three additional murders in Canada, including the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy in Edmonton.
Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh, and Karan Brar are accused of first-degree murder and conspiracy in relation to Nijjar’s death, according to papers filed in a Surrey court on Friday. Although the accusations have not been proven in court, all three of them made a virtual appearance before a judge on Friday.
Three Indian citizens have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a well-known Sikh separatist, in Surrey, British Columbia, last June. According to the police, they are members of an alleged hit squad directed by the Indian government.
Canada Police arrests 3 Indians (Credits: The Hindu)
According to RCMP officials, all three men were arrested without incident in Edmonton, with two of them being apprehended at their homes and the third elsewhere. According to sources, the accused are Indian nationals who have resided in Canada for three to five years as non-permanent residents.
According to sources, they arrived in Canada on temporary visas, some of which were student visas. While in Canada, none of them sought education. None of them have been granted permanent residency. According to police, others connected to this crime may be arrested in the coming days.
According to Supt. Mandeep Mooker, the officer in charge of the B.C. RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide, and we are dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”
According to RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, the force is “looking into connections to the government of India.” However, Teboul stated that the force’s interactions with Indian police have been “somewhat difficult and challenging.”
Canada Arrests Suspects In Khalistani Terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjars Killing (Credits: NDTV)
Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc praised the RCMP for the arrests and called Friday’s developments “substantial progress” in the inquiry into Nijjar’s death’s circumstances. “The task doesn’t end here. In fact, the task continues,” LeBlanc stated to reporters on Parliament Hill.
CBC News discovered the arrests, as well as additional information that police did not release on Friday, through extensive discussions with high-ranking investigative and government sources, as well as Sikh community members.
Due to the sensitivity of the situation, the investigative and government sources spoke with CBC News on the condition of anonymity. The Sikh community sources voiced concerns about their personal safety, so CBC News is not disclosing their identities.
Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian citizen, was shot dead on June 18, shortly after evening prayers at his Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in what seemed to be a well-planned attack, according to video of the incident acquired by CBC’s The Fifth Estate.
According to Canadian officials, they told representatives of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in person that Canada had evidence linking them to Nijjar’s death last August.
A month later, on September 18, 2023, shortly after returning from a tense trip to India for the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rose in the House of Commons to declare that “Canadian security agencies have been actively following credible allegations of a possible link between agents of the government of India” and Nijjar’s death.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar (Credits: Times Colonist)
“Any foreign government involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian territory is an unacceptable breach of our sovereignty,” he continued. Modi’s administration has denied ordering extrajudicial killings in the United States and Canada.
Just two days after Trudeau’s bombshell statement in the House, Sukhdool Singh Gill, 39, of Winnipeg, was shot dead in a duplex in the city’s northwest on September 20, 2023. A neighbor told police that he heard 11 shots.
Gill, also known as Sukha Duneke, was allegedly a member of the Davinder Bambiha gang in India, according to police records in that country. Indian media sources reported that he escaped to Canada in 2017 using a false passport. Gill was one of Punjab’s most sought men, suspected of extortion and organizing cash for gang members to purchase firearms.
Police in India have publicly linked him to murders and other serious offenses. He was also on the radar of the Indian government. The day before his death, his name and photo appeared on a list of 43 suspected terrorists compiled by India’s National Investigation Agency, which connected him to the separatist Khalistan Tiger Force. India had previously accused Nijjar of being a member of the same group. The NIA tweeted an image of him with other wanted individuals the day after he died.
