Canada police warns son of acquitted Air India bombing suspect of potential life threat

Ottawa: The Royal Canadian Mount Police (RCMP) has issued a warning to Hardeep Malik, the son of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in connection with the Air India bombing of 1985. Hardeep Malik, a Surrey-based businessman, received an official letter cautioning him about potential threats to his life. This comes in the wake of Ripudaman Singh Malik’s murder in 2022, for which two individuals have been charged, CBC News reported.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the CBC News report claims that RCMP investigators are exploring the possibility of the Indian government’s alleged involvement in Ripudaman Singh Malik’s assassination, similar to their alleged role in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar the previous year.

The warning issued to Hardeep Malik falls under the “Duty to Warn” protocol, a measure taken by authorities in British Columbia to alert individuals when their safety is at risk. The RCMP underscored that the threat must be considered likely to materialise.

Hardeep Malik is not the only one to receive such notice; others associated with the Khalistan separatist movement in British Columbia have also been cautioned.

CBC news report claims that these developments lend credence to the suspicion that the Indian government’s alleged targeting of Sikh figures in Canada did not begin with Nijjar’s death, a claim repeatedly denied by India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has time and again denied receiving any evidence implicating Indian nationals’ involvement in the killing in Canada of India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed as he came out of a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year. The attack was described as ‘highly coordinated’ and involved six men and two vehicles. Notably, the Canadian police have not given any evidence of any link to India, as was being speculated in Canadian media.

Nijjar’s killing triggered diplomatic tensions between Canada and India after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged India’s hand in the killing — a claim New Delhi has rejected, calling it “absurd” and “motivated.”

Earlier, in the aftermath of Ripudaman Singh Malik’s assassination, the RCMP extended warnings to several other Sikh-Canadian individuals, suggesting a broader pattern of potential threats.

While connections between Singh Malik’s murder and the Nijjar case are being investigated, conclusive evidence remains elusive, leaving the investigation ongoing.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that Canada has not provided any “specific” evidence or relevant information in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case and that no “formal communication” has been provided to India over the arrests of three Indians allegedly involved in the matter.”

“No specific or relevant evidence or information has been given to us in this matter. Canada has informed us about the arrest. But we have not got any formal communication…” MEA Spokesperson said on the arrest of three Indian nations in Canada in Nijjar killing.