Achi news desk-
One of the suspects in the BC shooting down of Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar entered Canada using a study permit that he said took only days to obtain.
In a video posted online in 2019, Karan Brar said he applied for a student visa through EthicWorks Immigration Services in Bathinda, in the Indian state of Punjab.
“And in a few days I received my study visa,” he said.
EthicWorks posted the promotional video on its Facebook page, along with a photo of Brar, who the company said was from the city of Kotkapura, north of Bathinda.
“Congratulations Karan Brar on Canadian study visa,” read the caption below the video. “One more happy client from Kotkapura.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has refused to answer questions about how the suspects came to Canada, but online postings indicate that Brar obtained a student permit three years before the killing.
A separate Facebook page that appears to belong to Brar said he began studying at Bow Valley College in Calgary on April 30, 2020, and moved to Edmonton on May 4, 2020.
A spokesperson for the college confirmed that Karan Brar was enrolled in the Hospital Unit Clerk program in 2020. The program spans eight months, raising questions about why he stayed in Canada years later.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not yet responded to questions about the matter.
Kamalpreet Singh (left), Karanpreet Singh (centre), and Karan Brar (right) are accused of murder and conspiracy in the killing of Sikh activist BC Hardeep Singh Nijjar. THE CANADIAN PRESS/RCMP.
RJB
Brar, 22, was arrested in Edmonton on Friday, along with Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karanpreet Singh, 28. They appeared in court in Surrey, BC on Tuesday to face charges of murder and conspiracy.
Two of them allegedly shot Nijjar in the parking lot of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple on June 18, 2023, while the other drove away.
Nijjar was a prominent leader of the Khalistan movement, which seeks independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab province. India views separatists as a threat to its national security.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last September that Canada’s investigation had found possible links to Indian government agents. India has denied the allegations.
The RCMP told reporters at a news conference Friday that multiple investigations are still ongoing, and that police are looking into suspected Indian government involvement.
The three suspects are all Indian nationals who lived in Edmonton, police said.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The arrests have led to questions about the immigration status of the men, amid criticism of government policies that have triggered a large increase in foreign students.
Faced with complaints that its growing numbers of international students are causing problems with everything from housing to health care, the government has promised to cut the program.
In January, Miller said the student visa system had become open to abuse and placed a cap on intake for the next two years, while also placing restrictions on work permits for foreign students.
EthicWorks Immigration Services stated on their website that “Canada continues to attract more international students, even after reaching close to half a million students in recent years.”
The company is located near Ghora Chowk, Bathinda, India. According to corporate records it was registered in Canada in 2021. Its registered office is in Melfort, Sask.
Corporate records indicate that the address is the residence of company director Hirdepal Brar. The second director, Jashanpreet Sidhu, lives in Brampton, Ont, according to the records.
EthicWorks Immigration Services registered office in Meltford, Sask.
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Sidhu declined to reveal any details about Brar’s visa application, citing privacy.
“I’m not sure exactly when it came to Canada, but the application was made in 2019,” he said.
Both directors are registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Advisers, a federal regulatory body. Its website said Hirdepal Brar has been licensed since 2018, and Sidhu was licensed in 2019.
On its old website, which is no longer active, the company said it was founded by international students who came to Canada a decade ago, and have since immigrated.
It offers to “hand hold” you through the visa and immigration process.
The arrests risked further inflaming tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa, and coincided with the release on Friday of the interim report of the public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s elections.
The report said that intelligence indicated that “proxy Indian agents” may have attempted to interfere in a federal election by providing “illegal financial assistance to various Canadian politicians as a means of attempting to secure the election of pro-Indian candidates or to gain influence over candidates who n take office.”
“In some cases, the candidates may never know that their campaigns have received illegal funds.”
In its annual report, released on Tuesday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service also identified India as one of the “major perpetrators” of foreign interference and espionage in Canada.
India was named along with China, Russia and Iran.
“In 2023, these states and their intelligence services continued to engage in a variety of foreign interference and hostile espionage activities to advance their objectives and interests,” CSIS wrote.
The report said that before Trudeau announced India’s possible role in the killing of Nijjar, Director David Vigneault and then National Security Intelligence Advisor Jody Thomas traveled to India to discuss the matter with their counterparts.
“In response to the serious allegations, Director Vigneault said that Canada and its allies need accountability from the Government of India regarding its possible involvement in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”
