VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Canadian police on Friday arrested three suspects and detained them in connection with the killing of a Sikh separatist leader last June, which was at the center of a diplomatic spat with India. announced that it is investigating possible ties to the Indian government.
Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karanpreet Singh, all in their 20s, were arrested Friday morning in Edmonton, Alberta, in connection with the killing of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar by a group of masked gunmen in a Vancouver suburb. Three Indian nationals have been arrested, police said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic row with India in September when he said there was a “credible suspicion” that India was involved in Nijjar’s murder.
India had accused Nijjar of terrorism links but angrily denied any involvement in the killing. Following the allegations, India last year told Canada to dismiss 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country. Tensions remain, but have since eased somewhat.
The three suspects were living in Canada as non-permanent residents, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said at a press conference in Toronto on Friday.
“We are investigating whether there are any links to the Indian government,” Mukkar said, adding that this was an “ongoing investigation.”
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar condemned the “atmosphere of violence” against Indian diplomats in Canada. https://t.co/1fcyS92sG4
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Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner David Teboul said Canadian authorities were in talks with Indian officials. “I would characterize this collaboration as quite challenging,” he said. “It was very difficult.”
The three are expected to be extradited to British Columbia by Monday on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Nijjar, an Indian-born Canadian citizen, was a plumber and leader of a once-powerful movement to create an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. However, he denied any ties to terrorism.
A decade-long bloody Sikh rebellion rocked northern India in the 1970s and 1980s, but was crushed in a government crackdown that killed thousands, including prominent Sikh leaders. It was done.
Although the Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power, it still has supporters in India’s Punjab state and the large Sikh diaspora overseas. Although the active insurgency ended several years ago, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists are trying to make a comeback.
