New Delhi: The Canadian Police are investigating the murder of YouTuber Nancy Grewal as an “intentional act” and not a “random act of violence”, hours after her mother alleged that Nancy’s social media presence and past enmity with some locals was behind the killing.
Nancy, 45, of Indian origin and whose real name is Anita Agnihotri, was stabbed Tuesday night at her residence on Canada Street in Windsor, Ontario.
According to the LaSalle police, they were informed of the stabbing around 9.30 pm and Nancy was rushed to hospital, where she succumbed to injuries. Initially, the police had termed the stabbing and murder as an “isolated incident” to “ease public concern”.
In a media statement Friday, however, LaSalle Police Chief Michael Pearce said “investigators are confident this was not a random act of violence”.
“Ms Grewal’s murder is being investigated as an intentional act against her. All information is being considered. While we recognise the significant public interest in this case, we will not share information that will compromise the investigation, including leads, tips, and investigative avenues,” Pearce stated.
Speaking to the media in Punjab’s Jalandhar Thursday, Nancy’s mother, Shinderpal Kaur, pointed to her daughter’s commentary on politics, daily-affairs of Punjab and Sikh separatism as well as her outspoken nature as motives behind the killing.
She said there was an attempt to set Nancy’s house on fire around two months ago, which was reported to the local police. “There was a video threat that she would be killed, which we had reported to the police,” Shinderpal added.
She also accused some locals at the nearby gurdwara in Canada, stating that based on Nancy’s videos alleging discrepancies at the gurdwara, CCTV cameras had been installed at the complex.
She named one Avtar Singh Kooner, associated with Windsor gurdwara, who was behind her daughter’s killing and said that these men wanted Nancy to fall in line with the views of the people linked with the Sikh separatist views.
Meanwhile, the president of the Windsor gurdwara management committee refuted these allegations, saying that the committee had given her shelter and support around five to seven years ago, when she first migrated to Canada.
“The management committee never threatened her, nor does it have anything to do with her now. I will take you back to some five-seven years back when she first moved to Canada. She had no one here except the man she was living with, but he threw her out of his house within a year,” Manjinder Singh Kooner told a radio station in Windsor.
He also said that the gurdwara committee provided her with a second-hand car to help her get to her workplace, as she worked as a home nurse on call. He further said that the relationship between the committee and her soured because she applied for membership in the gurdwara management committee.
“The committee did not give membership, but wrote ‘hold’ on her form. By July 2024, the first committee was formed, which took up her case. However, by that time, she had spoken so much against our martyrs, religious figures, holy book Guru Granth Sahib, gurus, and Akal Takht Jathedars, as well as the Khalistanis. She was informed in writing that she could not be given membership with a written reason,” Kooner told the radio station.
He further said that the management committee was already in the process of taking legal action against her regarding her videos which he said were defamatory and carried comments that hurt religious sentiments.
Regarding Avtar Singh Kooner’s identity and relationship with the gurdwara committee, Kooner said he has been associated with the committee and is a regular visitor to the place of worship. “I have not heard him say anything to her. If they had any personal enmity between them, I can’t vouch for it,” he further said.
What Nancy Grewal said
Hailing from Ludhiana’s Narangwal village, Nancy Grewal had moved to Canada in 2018 and, going by her videos, was a vocal critic of Sikh separatists, including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Her YouTube channel, Nancy Grewal Canada, currently has more than 9,000 subscribers and has 481 videos.
After the alleged fire incident at her house, she uploaded a video on the channel in November, saying she was speaking in English to reach out to white Canadians about the threats from “Khalistan people”. She also mentioned some persons based in a local gurdwara.
“I’m a Canadian citizen, but I don’t feel safe in this country right now because Saturday morning, 8 of November, the one white Canadian guy came to my home and he hauled a big red colour gas gallon… the man spread the gas everywhere… in front of my door and then (set) fire. So, I believe in God. God saved me. God saved my life. Nothing happened to me. Nothing happened to my house,” Nancy Grewal says in the video.
“I just called the cops, and I know who this person is. This person belongs to Khalistan, and he always sits in the country road 42 gurdwara. He is always doing these kind of illegal activities in people’s houses… he tried to scare me. I feel scared. He tried to give me a warning. Shut your mouth, don’t raise your voice about this topic (sic),” she adds.
“So, Windsor police know that this man, (that) is doing this kind of illegal activity. Just two years ago, he tried to shoot at one Punjabi man, the doctor, at his house, and his youngest brothers have a gas station on the Wyandotte Paul Autos. So, someone was shot over there at the gas station; you can check on Google, on social media. I mean, the Windsor police know that, but they always tell me ‘we have no proof’,” she says.
In other videos, Nancy makes comments against Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a religious organisation, and its spiritual head, Gurinder Singh Dhillon. She also had several videos against jailed Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh, calling him a “fraud”.
Canada’s CBC News had initially reported that pro-Khalistan social media accounts had claimed responsibility for Nancy’s murder.
“This woman was saying bad things about religion and Khalistan. And she got the result of that. We don’t have anything against any community or religion, and if anyone says something against our community and Khalistan like this, they will meet the same fate,” stated one such account cited by CBC News.
(This report has been updated)
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: ‘No Indian role in extortion cases,’ says British Columbia premier as India-Canada thaw pushes ahead