Canada Charges 3 Men in Slaying of Sikh Separatist

Arrests are the first in 2023 shooting death that Trudeau linked to India
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2024 4:45 PM CDT
Canada Makes First Arrests in 2023 Slaying of Sikh Activist
A banner that shows the late Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is displayed outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, in September 2023.   (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Three men Canadian police say were part of a hit team have been charged in the assassination of a Sikh separatist last year in British Columbia—a killing that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested India was behind. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot last June by masked attackers in the parking lot near a Sikh temple in the city of Surrey. Court documents show that Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karan Brar were charged with first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, the Guardian reports. India has denied having direct involvement in the slaying.

Police said the men charged on Friday, the first suspects arrested in the case, are Indian citizens who had lived in Canada for three to five years but don't have permanent residency. The filings say they conspired with unnamed others to commit the crime, per CNN, and their roles included spotting, driving, and shooting the victim, who was a Canadian citizen. One official said police worked with members of the Sikh community on the case. More arrests are possible, police said, with one official saying, "This investigation does not end here," per the CBC. Another official said police work is proceeding across Canada. "These efforts include investigating connections to the Government of India," David Teboul of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a press conference. (More Canada stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X