Achi news desk-
Police in Canada have made an arrest in the fatal 2023 shooting of prominent Sikh-Canadian activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, months after authorities accused Indian government agents of involvement in the killing.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia said Friday afternoon that three people had been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into the killing of Nijjar.
The three individuals – all Indian nationals – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, RCMP Superintendent Mandeep Mooker told reporters.
“This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide, and we remain committed to finding and arresting all of these individuals,” Mooker said.
He added that the police were “investigating whether there are any links with the Indian government”.
“However, as I said, it is an ongoing investigation and I have no information to provide on that matter at this time.”
Nijjar was fatally shot on June 18, 2023, outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, prompting widespread condemnation.
A few months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country’s security agencies were investigating “credible allegations of possible involvement” between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s killing.
“Any involvement by a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said in an address to the Canadian parliament in September last year.
“In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the Indian government to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter.”
His comments prompted a fierce response from India, which dismissed the claims as “absurd” and politically motivated. New Delhi also accused Canada of not doing enough to stop anti-India activism and “Sikh extremism”.
But the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long faced accusations of targeting political opponents, journalists and religious minorities, including Muslims and Sikhs, in what rights groups have said is an ongoing effort to stifle dissent. .
At the time of Nijjar’s killing, tensions had been growing between Canada and India over a Sikh campaign for a sovereign state in India’s Punjab region. Known as the Khalistan movement, the campaign has supporters in Canada.
Nijjar served as the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, the temple where he was killed. He was among those who advocated for Khalistan.
‘Active police operation’
Asked to comment on Friday’s reports that arrests had been made in the case, Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc referred reporters’ questions to the RCMP.
“You will understand that the developments in relation to the murder of a Canadian citizen, Mr Nijjar, are part of an ongoing police operation. This operation started today. It’s still an active police operation,” LeBlanc said in Ottawa.
The RCMP identified the three men arrested Friday as Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Karan Brar.
Mooker, the police superintendent, said the three were non-permanent residents of Canada and had been in the country for between three and five years.
CBC News reported earlier in the day that, according to unnamed sources, “hit squad members allegedly played different roles as shooters, drivers and bystanders” on the day Nijjar was killed.
“Sources said investigators have identified the alleged members of the squad who were hit in Canada several months ago and have been keeping them under close surveillance,” the Canadian broadcaster said.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Friday afternoon.
Threats reported
The killing of Nijjar continues to raise questions about allegations of Indian foreign interference, particularly within Sikh diaspora communities in Canada, the United States and other countries.
In September, Moninder Singh of the BC Council of Gurdwaras told Al Jazeera that he was among five Sikh leaders – including Nijjar – who were warned by the national security division of the RCMP in 2022 about threats against their lives.
On Friday, Daneg Singh, president of the Canadian World Sikh Organization advocacy group, welcomed the arrests in the Nijjar case but said they also raise new questions.
“While arresting the hit squad is important, what is even more important is to identify and bring to justice those who directed these operations,” Singh said in a statement, accusing the Indian government of complicity .
Reports of an alleged plot to kill another prominent Sikh separatist leader in the US have also emerged following Nijjar’s death. In late November, the US Department of Justice announced charges against 52-year-old Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta.
Gupta was accused of being part of an indecent attempt to assassinate a US citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in collaboration with an Indian government employee and others.
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that US intelligence agencies had determined that the operation to target Pannun had been approved by the head of India’s foreign intelligence agency at the time, known as RAW.
The Indian government has dismissed those claims as “unwarranted” and “baseless”, according to media reports.
On Monday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre described the Washington Post report as “a serious matter”.
“The Indian government has been very clear with us that they are taking this seriously and that they will investigate – and we expect that accountability from the government,” Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing news.
He added that Washington would continue to raise concerns with New Delhi.
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