Ottawa: A fourth suspect has been arrested by Canadian authorities in connection with the killing of India-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a week after police arrested three accused linked with the high-profile case that has severely strained India's relations with Canada. Amandeep Singh, 22, a resident of Brampton, Surrey, and Abbotsford areas of Canada, has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that Singh was arrested on May 11 for his role in the killing of Nijjar. He was already in the custody of the Peel Regional Police for unrelated firearms charges. "This arrest shows the nature of our ongoing investigation to hold responsible those that played a role in the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” said Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, the Officer in Charge of IHIT.
"IHIT pursued the evidence and gained sufficient information for the British Columbia Prosecution Service to charge Amandeep Singh with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder," the police statement said. Investigators said no further details of the arrest can be released due to ongoing investigations and court processes.
India's response to the fourth arrest
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday responded to a query over the arrest, saying India has not received anything specific or worthy of being pursued by Indian probe agencies in the Nijjar case. India had earlier said no relevant information or specific evidence about New Delhi’s alleged involvement in the killing of Nijjar has been provided by Canadian authorities.
On May 4, Jaishankar said that he had seen the news about the arrests made and added that they “apparently are Indians of some kind of gang background". "We’ll have to wait for the police to tell us. But, as I said, one of our concerns which we have been telling them is that, you know, they have allowed organised crime from India, specifically from Punjab, to operate in Canada," he added.
India's high commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma said that it hopes to get regular updates from the Canadian authorities regarding the three arrested Indians. "I understand that the arrests have been made as a result of investigations conducted by the relevant Canadian law enforcement agencies. This issue is internal to Canada and therefore we have no comments to offer in this regard," Verma said.
Who are the suspects?
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead by two unidentified men outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. A purported video footage of the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by the National Investigation Agency in 2020, where the Khalistani separatist was seen shot by armed men.
The Canada-based Global News, citing an unnamed source, said Amandeep is believed to be one of the two armed men who opened fire on Nijjar. Like his co-accused, Amandeep arrived in Canada on a temporary visa, but was allegedly involved in violent crime, the source said.
Amandeep was one of five men charged with firearms and drug offences following a traffic stop in Brampton by the Peel police Specialized Enforcement Bureau on November 3, 2023. On Saturday, IHIT released a photo of Amandeep Singh in an effort to further advance the investigation.
IHIT investigators on May 3 arrested three Indian nationals -- Karan Brar (22), Kamalpreet Singh (22) and 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh -- for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. All three individuals are Indian nationals living in Edmonton and have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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, which India has dismissed Trudeau's charges as "absurd" and "motivated." India has been asserting that its "core issue" with Canada remained that of the space given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.
(with inputs from PTI)
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