Three Indian men were detained and charged by Canadian police on Friday for the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in January. The police said they were investigating the men’s possible connections to the Indian government.
Nijjar, 45, was shot and killed in June in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver with a sizable Sikh community, outside a Sikh temple. A diplomatic crisis with New Delhi ensued a few months later when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed proof of Indian government participation.
The three individuals are identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as Karanpreet Singh, 28, Karanpreet Singh, 22, and Karan Brar, 22.
“We’re investigating their ties, if any, to the Indian government,” RCMP superintendent Mandeep Mooker stated at a live press conference.
Nijjar, a citizen of Canada, advocated for the establishment of Khalistan, a sovereign Sikh nation separated from India. Nijjar was branded a “terrorist” by New Delhi, which has long been irritated by the existence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada.
The purported involvement of the Indian intelligence agency in murder plans in both Canada and the United States alarmed the White House last week.
Canadian police claimed to have collaborated with US law enforcement and hinted that further detentions would be forthcoming. The three people, who are all citizens of India, were taken into custody on Friday in Edmonton, Alberta, according to the police. By Monday, they should be in British Columbia.
