Canadian police arrest 3 Indians in Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder case, had arrived on ‘student visa’

Ottawa, May 3

The Canadian police on Friday arrested three Indian nationals believed by investigators to be members of an alleged hit squad tasked by the Government of India with the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last year, according to media reports.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.

India has dismissed Trudeau’s charges as “absurd” and “motivated”. Three persons had been arrested and charged with Nijjar’s killing, CTV News quoted a senior government source as saying.

Court documents show that Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar are each facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy in the case, the reports said.

Nijjar (45) was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Surrey, BC, on June 18, 2023. He was a Canadian citizen. A report in Global News identified the suspects as Indians nationals. “The RCMP took the Indian nationals into custody on Friday morning,” almost a year after Nijjar was gunned down, the report said. Citing sources, it said that the suspects had entered Canada on “student visas but may have been working at the direction of Indian intelligence when they shot Nijjar”. According to court records, Brar has been charged with a murder that occurred in Surrey on June 18, 2023. He also faces a charge of conspiracy to commit murder on May 1, 2023, in Edmonton and Surrey, the report said.

Talking to reporters on Parliament Hill, Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc declined to confirm the Indian Government connection on Friday, saying such questions were best addressed by the RCMP. The indictments allege the conspiracy unfolded in both Surrey and Edmonton between May 1, 2023, and the date of Nijjar’s killing. Quoting sources close to the investigation, the CBC News reported that the police are actively investigating possible links to three additional murders in Canada, including the shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Edmonton.

Members of the hit squad are alleged to have played different roles as shooters, drivers and spotters on the day Nijjar was killed at a gurdwara in Surrey in British Columbia, according to the sources. The men were arrested during police operations in at least two provinces, the report said. — PTI

First-degree murder charge

Court documents show that suspects Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar are each facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy in the case, media reports said