Canadian Sikh had meeting planned with Indian diplomat before murder, son now warned of threat

The murder of a Canadian Sikh community figure before he was due to meet an Indian diplomat is being investigated for “likely” Indian government involvement, whilst his son has also now been warned about a threat to his life.

A CBC News exclusive by respected reporter Evan Dyer has revealed the news, stating that Canadian authorities “have been probing whether the government of India was behind the killing” of Ripudaman Singh Malik, a well-known Canadian Sikh figure. The news came out after his son received a “Duty to warn” letter from police last week. Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar was also warned before he was killed a year later.

The report (22.05.24) reads, “The reported threat against Hardeep Malik (Ripudaman’s son) could support the theory the Indian government’s alleged campaign of assassination in Canada did not begin with Nijjar’s killing on June 18, 2023.” Nijjar was killed in Surrey Guru Nanak Gurdwara for his leadership within the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement, approximately a year after Malik was murdered a short drive away in 2022 in another targeted hit.

The CBC revelations come from being given access to Ripudaman’s cellphone messages and data, which relayed plans to meet with infamous Indian diplomat Amar Jit Singh, who is also being investigated for his role in the Nijjar assassination. The close ties of Ripudaman and Indian State figures comes despite him being accused of a role in the 1985 Air India bombing, which was alleged to be a Khalistan terror attack. This has always been denied by the vast majority of Khalistan and wider Sikh groups.

The information about Amar Jit Singh arranging a meeting with Ripudaman and also exchanging calls with him shortly before he was killed is also being looked into by investigators, who arrested two known gang members for the murder weeks after the hit last July. Amar Jit Singh is believed to have helped Ripudaman be granted a visa into India, after he was previously blacklisted for his alleged Khalistan ties.

The arrested gang members are suspected to have been contracted to carry out the killing, as has long occurred across Canada through various gangs. The information taken from Ripudaman’s phone connecting diplomat Amar Jit to seeing him that day is seemingly what has led to the threat against Hardeep Singh Malik, who is now one of over a dozen Canadian Sikhs believed to be possible targets of the Indian State.

The late Malik Snr, now being investigated as a possible target of the Indian regime, was also a public supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a position which reflects the tail end of a complex relationship between Malik and India. CBC describe that he was the beneficiary of a period from the late 90s onwards where “India began to offer former Sikh separatists in Canada a deal: forgiveness for past deeds in return for renunciation of their separatist goals”. However, some Sikh orgs and commentators argue that the relationship was more suspicious.

Ripudaman Singh Malik became notorious in Canada for a link to the 1985 Air India flight bombing, an incident which is linked to the Khalistan (free Sikh homeland) movement but labelled as a “false flag” operation by many Sikh groups, designed to malign the Khalistan movement. Malik Snr was acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to the incident.

The reasoning behind beliefs the Khalistan movement was framed for the tragic act of terrorism has been intricately relayed by various Sikh figures, to the extent that many groups also openly call for reinvestigation into the incident, especially given ongoing revelations about Indian interference in Canada. The issue has even been raised by former Canadian diplomat Bhupinder Singh Liddar.

After his very public acquittal, Malik Snr went on to become what CBC describe as a “wealthy businessman”, whilst Punjabi Sikh community outlet Baaz note his well-known Sikh philanthropy, helping open Sikh schools across the Vancouver area. Yet, his ties to infamous Indian State figures runs deeper, with his brother revealing in an interview the family had become connected to Samant Goel, the head of Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) who was named by the Washington Post as one of the senior Indian government figures who motioned the assassination of Nijjar. Goel oversaw a large transition of Sikh activists/alleged Sikh activists from being blacklisted from India to being allowed to reenter the country from 2019, before he resigned from his post a week after the assassination of Nijjar.

Reporter Evan Dyer recently stated Canada’s investigations now focus on India as the sole culprit behind the Nijjar assassination, based on his liaison with authorities. Now with the assertion “it’s likely that both Nijjar and Singh Malik were targeted by the government of India” in his recent article, the growing focus on India as the perpetrators of terror across Canada will only increase pressure from panthic (Sikh path/community focused) groups demanding prosecutions of senior Indian diplomats like Amar Jit Singh to follow.