Canada arrests fourth Indian national in murder of Sikh activist Nijjar

TORONTO: A fourth person has been arrested and charged by Canadian police on Saturday in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced that Amandeep Singh, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Nijjar’s killing.

Amandeep Singh, an Indian national who resided in Brampton, Surrey, and Abbotsford, was already in custody for unrelated firearms charges out of Peel, Ontario, IHIT said.

Earlier this month, Canadian police arrested and charged three Indian nationals from the city of Edmonton and said they were probing whether the men had ties to the Indian government.

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The killing of Nijjar sparked a diplomatic strain between Ottawa and New Delhi when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked Indian intelligence to the killing.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead last June outside a Sikh temple in a Vancouver suburb. A few months later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited what he said was evidence of potential Indian government involvement, prompting a diplomatic row with New Delhi. However, the Indian government strongly denied the allegation.

Najjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi, which had labeled Nijjar a “terrorist”.