Canada: Fourth Indian national arrested for murder of Sikh leader

Canadian authorities on Saturday arrested a fourth Indian national involved in the murder of separatist Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nagar and charged him with murder.

According to the French news agency AFP, 22-year-old Amandeep Singh was already arrested on weapons-related charges and charged with “first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder” in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nagar.

Three other Indian citizens have also been arrested this month. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have identified the three men as Kiranpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Kiran Brar.

Two of them are 22 years old and one is 28 years old. They have also been charged with first degree murder and conspiracy.

After this murder, a diplomatic dispute arose between Canada and India when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked the murder to the Indian Intelligence Agency.

Najar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015, was a supporter of a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.

He was wanted by Indian authorities on charges of alleged ‘terrorism’ and conspiracy to murder, but Najar denied the charges.

Kiran Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Kiranpreet Singh are the three Indian nationals arrested in Canada on May 3, 2024 for their alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nagar (Reuters/Integrated (Homicide Investigation Team)

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Hardeep Singh Nagar, 45, was shot and killed by masked assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in suburban Vancouver on June 18, 2023.

Several months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country had “credible allegations” linking the Indian intelligence agency to the murder.

India dismissed the allegations as ‘ridiculous’ and responded by imposing a temporary visa ban on Canadian citizens and forcing Ottawa to recall its diplomats from India.

In November, the US Department of Justice charged an Indian national living in the Czech Republic for allegedly planning a similar assassination attempt on US soil.

An Indian government official was also involved in the scheme, prosecutors said in court documents.

The allegations come following US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an unusual state visit as Washington seeks closer ties with India to counter China’s growing influence.

The Washington Post reported in April that US intelligence agencies had speculated that the plot on US soil was approved by Samant Goyal, India’s top official at the time.

Canada has regarding 770,000 Sikhs, regarding two percent of the country’s population, who demand an independent state in India called Khalistan.