A fourth Indian national has been arrested and charged in Canada in connection with the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia last year.
The suspect was identified as 22-year-old Amandeep Singh by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team or IHIT. He split his time between Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA, and Surrey and Abbotsford in British Columbia.
Three others were arrested on May 3 from Edmonton in Alberta.
A release from IHIT on Saturday stated that Amandeep Singh had already been in custody of the Peel Regional Police or PRP in Ontario on unrelated firearms charges.
“IHIT 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 release said.
“This arrest shows the nature of our ongoing investigation to hold responsible those that played a role in the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” IHIT officer in charge Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said.
IHIT had the assistance of the Abbotsford Police Department and Ontario’s Central Region detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP, which helped “mitigate a significant public safety risk related to Amandeep Singh.”
The three arrested earlier were Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karanpreet Singh, 28, all residents of Edmonton, and they are also facing similar charges. They made an appearance before a British Columbia provincial court in Surrey on Tuesday.
Amandeep Singh was arrested in November 2023 on nine charges including those related to unauthorised possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.
Four others were arrested at that time.
Canadian investigators have not, as yet, announced any link to the Indian Government in relation to the murder. However, on May 3, Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, Commander of the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, said there were “separate and distinct investigations ongoing” including “investigating connections to the Government of India.” A day later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the investigations were “ongoing.”
The killing of Nijjar on June 18, in Surrey, British Columbia, caused India-Canada relations to rupture after Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons three months later that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder. India reacted by saying those charges were “absurd” and “motivated.”
India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma had described the arrests as an “internal” matter for Canada.
