Canada arrests fourth Indian in Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case

Amandeep Singh, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

A fourth person, also an Indian national, has been arrested in connection with the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team of Canada's British Columbia (BC) province announced on Saturday.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar (File)

The suspect, Amandeep Singh, 22, splits his time between Brampton, Ontario; Surrey, BC, and Abbottsford, BC, the IHIT noted in an official release, adding that he was already in the custody of the Peel Regional Police in Ontario for firearms charges in an unrelated case.

“We pursued the evidence and gained sufficient information for the BC Prosecution Service to charge Amandeep Singh with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder,” the police statement said.

“This arrest shows the nature of on our ongoing investigations to hold responsible those who played a role in the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” the statement added.

Last week, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) made the first arrests in the case, taking into custody Karan Brar (22), Kamalpreet Singh (22) and 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh. The Edmonton residents, all Indian citizens, too, have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Nijjar, who held Canadian nationality, was gunned down outside Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara on June 18 last year. A pro-Khalistan figure, he was designated as an “individual terrorist” by India under the stringent UAPA in July 2020.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly alleged that “agents of the Government of India” carried out the killing, leading to diplomatic tensions with the latter. Dismissing the allegations, New Delhi has, in turn, accused the Trudeau government of “inaction” towards Khalistani elements in Canada.

Khalistan is envisioned as a separate homeland for Sikhs, in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent.