New Delhi: Canadian police may arrest two men who investigators believe fatally shot Sikh separatist Hardeep Nijjar in British Columbia, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the suspects are under police surveillance and are expected to be arrested “in a few weeks.”
The Globe and Mail quoted three anonymous sources as saying the suspected killers never left Canada after Nijjar's killing and had been under police surveillance for months. Sources said police would explain the involvement of the suspected bombers and the Indian government in filing the charges.
Canada accused India of being involved in the killing of Nijjar, whom India described as a terrorist in 2020, but has not yet provided any evidence or information to support its claim, according to Indian authorities. Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in June.
Ottawa believes its case was strengthened by the U.S. indictment of an Indian who allegedly planned the foiled assassination of another Khalistani leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, at the instigation of an Indian official, an unsubstantiated claim despite the U.S. having made concrete contributions.
“The Globe is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to discuss national security and police matters. “It is not known whether the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are expected to arrest suspected accomplices in the murder,” the report said, citing the Washington Post reported in September, citing video clips and witness statements, that six men and two vehicles were involved in the murder of Nijjar.
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