New Delhi: After a months-long investigation, the Canadian police Friday arrested three Indian nationals in connection with the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil last June.
In a press conference Friday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said the suspects have been charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The RCMP added that investigators continue to probe “connections to the government of India”.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said: “There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters. Certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today.”
The Indian government is yet to officially respond to the arrests.
The suspects — Karan Brar (22), Kamalpreet Singh (22) and Karanpreet Singh (28) — had entered Canada on student visas, sources told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Each suspect has been charged with one count of murder using a firearm and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, according to court documents seen by CTV News. The suspects were taken into custody by the police Friday.
The indictments reportedly claim the conspiracy unfolded between 1 May, 2023, and 18 June, 2023 — the day of Nijjar’s killing — across the Canadian cities of Surrey and Edmonton.
While speaking to the media, the police said they are unable to comment on the nature of the evidence in the case, nor the motive behind the murder.
Nijjar was shot and killed outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. A Canadian citizen, he was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and considered one of India’s most-wanted terrorists. He has also campaigned for the creation of Khalistan, a separate state from India.
Nijjar’s death sparked a diplomatic rift between India and Canada. Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian agents played a role in Nijjar’s case. India has repeatedly denied the claims and subsequently cancelled diplomatic immunity for 41 Canadian diplomats for “mutual diplomatic parity”.
Separately, US officials are investigating the potential role of Indian government employees in a foiled assassination plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Earlier this week, the White House responded to a question about a Washington Post report that named Indian officials involved in the alleged murder plot against Pannun, including former RAW chief Samant Goel.
“This is a serious matter, and we’re taking that very, very seriously. The government of India has been very clear with us that they are taking this seriously and will investigate. And we expect that accountability from the government based on that,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
The Modi government, meanwhile, set up a high-level enquiry committee last year to look into concerns shared by Washington. This committee is investigating the networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others.
Also Read: ‘Plumber’ to ‘terrorist’ — who was Hardeep Nijjar, Khalistan Tiger Force chief shot dead in Canada
‘Hit squad’ & Bishnoi ‘link’
Speaking at the press conference Friday, Superintendent Mandeep Mooker (officer in charge of IHIT) said the three suspects arrested in the Nijjar case had been living as non-permanent residents in Canada for the last three to five years.
According to local Canadian reports, the three men were members of an alleged hit squad. A report by CBC cites sources as claiming the men had links to notorious Punjabi gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The don is in jail in Gujarat for allegedly murdering Punjabi rapper-politician Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022.
Footage later emerged of Nijjar’s killing that purportedly showed two masked men committing the crime and fleeing in a silver car.
On Friday, before the Canadian police’s announcement, Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc reacted to reports of the three arrests, saying: “I have full confidence in the security apparatus of the government of Canada and the work of the RCMP, and the work that the (Canadian) Security Intelligence Service does.”
“The police operation…confirms that the RCMP take these matters extremely seriously. But questions with respect to particular links or non-links are properly put to the RCMP,” Leblanc added.
Analysts have debated whether Canada can pursue a case against India at the International Court of Justice. However, both countries would have to consent to compulsory jurisdiction of the court.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: ‘India convicted before investigation completed’ — envoy asks Canada for evidence in Nijjar case