Canadian police accuse three people of murdering Sikh leader Nijjar, India-link investigation

OTTAWA:

Canadian police on Friday arrested and charged three Indian men in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year and said they were investigating whether the men had links to the Indian government.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. A few months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited evidence of Indian government involvement, leading to a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police named the three men as Karanpreet Singh, 28, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karan Brar, 22.

“We are investigating their possible ties to the Indian government,” Mandeep Mooker, an RCMP chief inspector, told a televised news conference.

The Indian mission in Ottawa did not respond to requests for comment.

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen who campaigned for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland from India. The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi, which had labeled Nijjar a “terrorist.”

Last week, the White House expressed concern over the reported role of Indian intelligence in assassination plots in Canada and the United States.

Canadian police said they had been cooperating with U.S. law enforcement agencies, without providing additional details, and suggested more arrests may be forthcoming.

“This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this murder and we remain committed to finding and arresting each of these individuals,” said Assistant RCMP Commissioner David Teboul.

The trio, all Indian nationals, were arrested in the Alberta city of Edmonton on Friday, police said. They will arrive in British Columbia on Monday.

Trudeau announced in September that Canadian authorities were pursuing charges linking Indian government agents to the killing. New Delhi dismissed Trudeau’s claim as absurd.

“We welcome the arrests, but this raises many more questions,” said Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesperson for the Canada-based advocacy group the World Sikh Organization.

“Those arrested are part of a hit squad, but it is clear they were under leadership,” he said by phone.

Canada had pressured India to cooperate in the investigation. Last November, US authorities said an Indian government official had led the plot to attempt the assassination on US soil of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and a dual citizen of the US and Canada.

“While today’s action … is a step forward, it only scratches the surface,” Pannun said in a statement, calling for action to “dismantle the networks that enable and perpetuate such crimes against Canadians on Canadian soil.” .