The fourth suspect in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 22-year old Amandeep Singh, appeared via telephone due to technical difficulties for his first court appearance at Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday.
Singh has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, as announced by the Lower Mainland’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Saturday afternoon.
The 22-year-old was already in custody in Ontario for unrelated firearms charges, according to IHIT.
Dozens of supporters for Sikh activist Nijjar held signs outside the Surrey courthouse condemning the men charged in connection to the killing.
Avneet Kaur was one of them, and says Nijjar was “like a father” to her.
“He was a very important part of our community and this is the least we can do to show up for him and our community here.”
Kaur adds there are “mixed feelings” in the community, but that their voices will not be silenced.
Nijjar was a prominent supporter of the Khalistan movement, organizing unofficial referendums in the Sikh diaspora to advocate for a separate Sikh state in India.
The death shocked many in the local Sikh community who saw the killing as a politically motivated assassination conducted on behalf of the Indian government.
‘More people involved in this’
Bhupinder Singh Hothi, general secretary for the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, told CTV News he believes others will be charged in the coming days.
“All the Canadians should look into this very seriously. It’s not just the matter of one person. This is an attack on Canadian soil”, says Hothi.
Hothi says the morale at the temple is strong and despite losing their leader, they will continue to raise their voices like Nijjar did.
Nijjar was gunned down outside the gurdwara parking lot in Surrey on June 18 of last year, where he was president at the time.
Amandeep Singh joins three others – 22-year-old Karan Brar, 22-year-old Kamalpreet Singh, and 28-year-old Karanpreet Singh – who are facing the same charges in connection to Nijjar’s killing.
The judge also granted Singh a no contact order for seven individuals – Brar and Karanpreet Singh also facing the same order.
The three are to have no contact with Balraj Nijjar, Harjinder Nijjar, Mehtab Nijjar, Malkit Singh, Sarandeep Sehaj, Harsimranjeet Singh and Arshdeep Kapoor.
Amandeep Singh has resided in Brampton, Ont., Surrey and Abbotsford, police said.
Homicide investigators thanked the Abbotsford Police Department and Ontario’s Central Region RCMP for their assistance in gathering evidence leading to the latest arrest and charges, saying they helped “mitigate a significant public safety risk related to Amandeep Singh.”
In September 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that national security authorities were investigating “credible allegations” of a link between the killing and the government of India.
India has denied any allegations of foreign interference, but the diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained for months.
Singh will join the three other suspects in court on May 21 for their next appearance.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday
