Orders by the Canadian Court of Appeals, accessed by ThePrint, show that Jaspal Atwal, who was photographed at a Canadian event, has been convicted in more than one case.
New Delhi: Jaspal Atwal made national headlines after being photographed with members of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s entourage — including his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.
Although Atwal first hit the headlines in the 1980s when he tried to kill a Punjab minister in 1986, what is not as well known is that he was also convicted in an insurance fraud in 2010.
Atwal, who had no criminal record before being involved in the attempt on the Punjab minister’s life, appealed against the conviction but it was turned down.
What the court said while upholding his conviction in the 1986 attempt to murder a Punjab minister
An order by the Canadian Court of Appeals describes the attempted assassination as a “cowardly and heinous act”. It states that “the jury found the man who fired the shots intended to kill”.
Atwal and three others were convicted in 1987 for trying to kill Malkiat Singh Sidhu, a minister from Punjab, when he was visiting Canada for a wedding in 1986. The assailants fired “five or six shots” at him, two of which hit Sidhu.
“This was an act of terrorism in order to advance a cause but acts of terrorism for whatever reason are and will continue to be condemned by all right-thinking members of Canadian society,” the court said. “If the triggerman had been a better shot these four prisoners could have faced a charge of first degree murder.”
The term of imprisonment is justified as a reflection of the “revulsion and abhorrence felt by a majority of the citizens for the type of action carried out by these four prisoners.” The four almost-assassins were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The appeal against the sentence says that Jaspal Atwal, a Canadian citizen who was born in India, did not have a criminal record prior to the attempted killing. The father of two had even been given a commendation by the Chief Constable of Vancouver for trying to “apprehend a thief” in 1985.
His good track record didn’t work in this case. Justice Legg, the judge who dismissed the appeal, said that he has sympathy for the accused’s friends, relatives, and the religious community they belong to.
“But that sympathy will not permit leniency to be extended to those who resort to violence with planning and deliberation in order to achieve some political purpose,” his order said.
Selling stolen cars
In 2010, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge ruled that Atwal was part of an auto-fraud ring. He would falsely report vehicles as stolen, and then change the vehicle identification numbers and fake registration documents before selling them again to unsuspecting buyers.
At the time, Atwal was a car salesman, and helped with the conversion of stolen vehicle. He appealed the ruling, but lost in 2012.
In the order on the case Insurance Corporation of British Columbia vs. Jaspal Singh Atwal, Atwal was found “liable in conspiracy”. Another order from the Court of Appeals shows that Atwal appealed against the decision, and once again the appeal was dismissed.
Atwal did not dispute that he had engaged in fraudulent activities, and neither did he dispute his involvement in selling stolen cars.
“After a 32-day trial, Mr. Atwal was held jointly and severally liable with his son, Vikram Atwal (Vikram) for special damages of approximately $25,000 and independently liable for punitive damages of $10,000,” the order reads.
The order doesn’t contain any mention of his previous criminal charges.