Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist in B.C. that was allegedly linked to India’s government

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Three Indian nationals living in Canada for at least three years have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy in the June 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, were all arrested in Edmonton on Friday morning and will be brought to the Lower Mainland for a court appearance Monday.

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Nijjar, 45, was gunned down as he left Surrey’s Guru Nanak Gurdwara after evening prayer on June 18. Almost immediately, his associates in Sikhs for Justice blamed the Indian government, given Nijjar’s role in the Sikh separatist movement and in organizing an international referendum on Khalistan.

In September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was credible intelligence linking India’s government to Nijjar’s assassination. The allegations strained relations between Canada and India, which has denied any connection to the killing, calling the claim “absurd.”

RCMP Asst. Commissioner Dave Teboul told reporters at a Surrey news conference Friday that there are several continuing investigations, including one probing any Indian government links to the Nijjar murder.

“I will say this matter is still very much under active investigation. I will underscore that today’s announcements are not a complete account of the investigative work currently underway,” Teboul said. “There are separate and distinct investigations, ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today. And these efforts include investigating connections with the Government of India.”

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And he said the RCMP is working with several international agencies, including in India and in the U.S.

But he characterized the collaboration with Indian police “as rather challenging and difficult for the last several years, however the RCMP is very committed to continuing to establish a working relationship.”

Both Teboul, the federal policing commander for the Pacific region, and Supt. Mandeep Mooker, who heads the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, refused to answer a flurry of reporter questions Friday, including the immigration status of the accused, whether they had links to an Indian gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, whether they might have been sleeper agents of the Indian government and more.

Postmedia News sources confirmed the accused killers did arrive in Canada with student visas and have some links to both the Bishnoi group and B.C.-based gangs.

Mooker said specifics about the evidence in the case would necessarily be withheld since the matter is now before the courts.

“We are investigating if there are any ties to the Government of India. However, as I said, it’s an ongoing investigation. And I don’t have any information to provide on that matter at this time,” he said.

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Both senior officers confirmed the possibility of more arrests and more suspects in the high-profile murder.

“The investigation does not end here. We are aware that there are others out there that played a role in the homicide and we remain dedicated to identifying and arresting each one of them,” Mooker said.

He also said IHIT is still looking for information about the three men charged and wants to hear from anyone who might have seen them around Surrey before the Nijjar murder. They’re believed to have used a Toyota Corolla while in the city last June.

Mooker suggested the three may have changed their appearance since first arriving in Canada.

Friends and associates of Nijjar’s said Friday they were relieved by the arrests but wanted to know more about India’s alleged involvement.

New York lawyer and Nijjar friend Gurpatwant Pannun, himself the target of a murder plot linked to India, said while “the arrest of those directly involved in the killing is a step forward, it only scratches the surface.”

Pannun said Indian diplomats and others in Indian intelligence officers “provided logistical support and intelligence for the assassination. They must be charged.”

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In November, court records filed in a N.Y. court against the suspect in the Pannun plot alleged the conspiracy to kill the outspoken lawyer was directed by an unnamed Indian government official, and that it was part of a larger alleged scheme to assassinate other Sikh separatists, including Nijjar.

Moninder Singh Bual, spokesman for the B.C. Gurdwara Council, said Friday that “what happened to Hardeep in that parking lot of a place of worship, it was very clear that this was a political assassination.

“For us, it was very crystal clear that a guy that’s speaking out at such a high level and connecting so many people to this movement over the last 10 years — that India had to go to this desperate step of eliminating him physically,” Bual said.

And he told reporters outside RCMP headquarters that the three arrests don’t eliminate the threat he and others face from India for advocating Sikh sovereignty.

“I definitely think there’s a real threat,” Bual said.

With files from Cheryl Chan

kbolan@postmedia.com

x.com/kbolan

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TIMELINE

Police in B.C. say they have charged three Indian nationals with the killing of Sikh activist and gurdwara leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last year.

Here is a timeline related to the killing, which triggered a diplomatic dispute between Canada and India:

2023

June 18: Nijjar is shot dead outside the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey.

Sept. 1: Canada pauses trade negotiations with India.

Sept. 10: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian PM Narendra Modi have a tense exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi.

Sept. 15: Canada postpones a planned October trade mission to India.

Sept. 18: Trudeau tells the House of Commons there is credible intelligence about a potential link between India’s government and the killing of Nijjar.

Sept. 18: Canada expels a top Indian diplomat and a senior Canadian diplomat is expelled from India in return.

Sept. 21: India suspends visa service for Canadians.

Oct. 19: Canada recalls 41 diplomats from India after the Indian government revokes their diplomatic immunity.

Oct. 25: India resumes some visa services for Canadians.

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Nov. 29: An indictment is unsealed in New York alleging a murder-for-hire plot by an Indian national. The indictment alleges an Indian government employee directed the attempted assassination in the U.S., and spoke about others, including Nijjar’s killing in Canada.

2024

May 3: Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh are arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Nijjar’s death.

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