VANCOUVER: Canadian police on Friday arrested three people in connection with the killing of a Sikh separatist in Vancouver last year, whose death the Indian government has linked.
Recently, the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar had thrown Canada and India into a serious diplomatic crisis after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested the Indian government’s involvement in the murder.
India rejected the allegations as “absurd” and reacted furiously, briefly suspending visas for Canadians and forcing Ottawa to withdraw diplomats.
Three Indian nationals, two aged 22 and one aged 28, were arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. He is accused of being the shooter, driver and monitor on the day of Nijjar’s murder.
He was arrested by police in Edmonton, the neighboring province of Alberta, where he lives, and is being held in custody pending further proceedings.
All had lived in Canada for three to five years, police said at a press conference.
“This investigation does not end here. “We know that other people may have played a role in this murder,” said Mandeep Mukar, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s homicide investigation team.
Nijjar – who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 – advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, seceding from India.
He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
On June 18, 2023, he was shot dead by masked assailants in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he led in suburban Vancouver.
Trudeau announced several months later that Canada had “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the murder and expelled an Indian official, setting off a diplomatic standoff with New Delhi.
Mukar said Canadian police are still investigating the suspects’ ties to the Indian government.
“It’s a bit of a relief that the investigation is moving forward,” Moninder Singh, a close friend of Nijjar, told AFP.
Singh, spokesperson for the British Columbia Council of Gurdwaras, said, “Ultimately it is India that is responsible for the killing of Sikh leaders abroad and is appointing individuals.”
In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian national living in the Czech Republic with allegedly plotting a similar assassination attempt on US soil.
Prosecutors said in unsealed court documents that an Indian government official was also involved in the scheme.
The shocking allegations came as US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a rare state visit, as Washington seeks closer ties with India to counter China’s growing influence.
The Washington Post reported this week that US intelligence agencies have assessed that the plot on US soil was approved by Samant Goyal, India’s top spy official at the time.
Canada is home to about 770,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population, a vocal minority demanding the independent state of Khalistan.