New Delhi: The four accused in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada continue to remain in custody and have not been released on bail, Ann Seymour, acting communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, which comes under the Ministry of Attorney General, has told ThePrint.
“All four accused were detained, and they continue to remain in custody,” the written response read. Seymour also said that no hearings related to bail for the men have been scheduled yet.
The clarification comes amid reports and claims on social media that the four Indian nationals had been granted bail and were no longer in custody.
The four—Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh—are in holding facilities, facing charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. While Karan, Kamalpreet and Karanpreet were arrested in May last year, Amandeep was arrested in November.
The accused will remain in custody till the trial commences.
Seymour told ThePrint that the next court appearance is a “pre-trial conference on February 11”.
“There is also a subsequent court appearance on February 12. Both court appearances are at 9 a.m,” the response added. The dates for trial have not yet been set, Seymour said.
Nijjar, who hailed from Bhar Singh Pura village in Jalandhar’s Phillaur tehsil, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants on the premises of a gurdwara in Surrey at 8.27 pm local time on 18 June, 2023, while he was returning home, according to reports. He was the head of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib.
His death became controversial after Justin Trudeau—who has now announced his resignation as the Canadian prime minister—alleged in the House of Commons that there was a potential link between Indian agents and Nijjar’s killing. He had also said at the time that Canadian police have evidence to support the allegations. India had, however, denied the allegations, calling them baseless.
Nijjar went to Canada in 1997 as a “plumber”, and soon rose to be the chief of pro-Sikh separatist outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). He was eventually designated as a terrorist by India.
According to sources in the security establishment, Nijjar played a key role in recruitment, training and financing the KTF, and was also an active member of the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a separatist organisation banned in India.
His name featured in the wanted list that former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had handed over to Trudeau when he visited India in 2018.
Nijjar faced four cases that were registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), pertaining to Sikh radicalism and waging war against the country, and carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh against his name. He was also named in the FIR that the NIA had registered in December 2020 during the farmers’ protests in Delhi.
Also Read: How Trudeau torpedoed ties with India, prioritised own political survival over Canada’s interests