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Man acquitted of 1985 Air India bombing killed in Canada
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson told HT the killing “did appear to be targeted” amid speculation that Ripudaman Singh Malik’s past and altered views in recent years made have led to it
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75, who was acquitted of charges of playing a role in the terrorist bombing of the Air India flight Kanishka in 1985, was murdered at Surrey in the Canadian province of British Columbia on Thursday.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokesperson told HT the killing “did appear to be targeted” amid speculation that his past and altered views in recent years made have led to his daylight killing.
Malik, who travelled to India in May-June and 2019 after New Delhi whittled down a blacklist related to pro-Khalistan figures in Canada and elsewhere, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January and wrote an open letter to Sikhs to renounce the demand for Khalistan as a separate homeland.
Vancouver Sun, a Canadian newspaper, quoted Kash Heed, a retired British Columbia police officer and later Solicitor General of the province, saying, “...it [murder] is related to his [Singh]’s political advocacy.”
An Indian official said the murder could be connected to his return to India and concerns that he may speak out about the Kanishka tragedy. The killing may have been carried out to send a message to others as well, the official added. The official expressed apprehension over the killing in the style of gangs. It potentially points towards a link between pro-Khalistan elements and organised crime, much of what Indo-Canadian gangsters run, the official said.
The probe into the murder has been handed over Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). In a statement, investigators said they were aware of Malik’s background though they were still working to determine the motive behind the murder.
Malik’s change of heart drew the attention of the separatist groups. In December 2019, Gurpatwant Pannun, the legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), said, “Instead of the stick, Prime Minister Modi and his agents are offering Sikh foreign nationals the carrot to once again visit family in India.” Pannun called it a clever and calculated attempt to undermine their “peaceful efforts to campaign for an independent Khalistan”.
SJS, which the Indian government banned in 2019 for secessionist activities, has insisted it abjures violence in pursuit of Khalistan.
Malik came to Canada in 1972 and was a successful businessman also involved in charitable organisations. In a social media post, his son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, said, “The media will always refer to him as someone charged with the Air India bombing. He was wrongly charged and the Court concluded there was no evidence against him. The media and RCMP never seemed to accept the Court’s decision and I pray today’s tragedy is not related.”
Malik was murdered three weeks after the 37th anniversary of the Kanishka bombing, the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history which claimed 329 lives. Malik and another accused Ajaib Singh Bagri were cleared of charges in 2005. Inderjit Singh Reyat was the only person to serve time in prison for the bombing before he was released in February 2017.
In his letter to Modi in January, Malik expressed his gratitude for the “unprecedented positive steps” the Prime Minister has taken to redress long-reading Sikh demands and grievances. He cited the elimination of blacklists that restricted visits to India of thousands of Sikhs living abroad, grant of passports and visas to asylees and their families, and the reopening of the cases related to the 1984 riots, etc.
