Canadian police update public on Sikh leader assassination

SURREY: Canadian police said on Friday they had arrested and charged three Indian nationals with the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 and said they were probing possible links to the Indian government.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cited evidence of Indian government involvement, prompting a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi.

Read more: Canada says Indian gov’t agents could be linked to Sikh leader’s murder

Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said the matter was still under investigation and other probes were being carried out. These “include investigating connections to the government of India,” he told a televised news conference.

Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of 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 about the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in assassination plots in Canada and the United States.

Canadian police say others may be involved, there may be more arrests.

More to follow…