Nijjar murder remains "very much under active investigation"; 3 Indian nationals arrested: Canada police

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The Canadian Police have arrested and charged three individuals in connection with the killing of India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, amid ongoing investigations into alleged connections to the Indian government.

According to court documents, Karanpreet Singh (28), Kamalpreet Singh (22), and Karan Brar (22) each face charges of one count first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder Nijjar's death, Canadian news website CTV News reported.

This charge, however, has been repeatedly denied by India. In September 2023, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that the Indian government had told Canada that it was not Government of India policy to engage in such acts like the killing of Nijjar

Addressing reporters at a news conference, RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, who leads the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, emphasised the active nature of the investigation into Nijjar's murder.

"Three suspects have been arrested and charged for their alleged involvement in the killing of Nijjar.... We are not able to make any comments on the nature of evidence... Nor can we speak behind the motive of murder of Nijjar... However, I will say this matter is very much under active investigation," he said.

"There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today, and these efforts include investigating connections to the government of India," Teboul also said.

The indictments allege that the conspiracy unfolded in both Surrey and Edmonton between May 1, 2023, and the day of Nijjar's killing.

Scheduled updates on the case from the BC RCMP and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team were announced for 12:30 pm PT on Friday.

Nijjar's assassination triggered diplomatic tensions between Canada and India after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disclosed intelligence investigations regarding a potential link between the Indian government and the killing.

Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc refrained from confirming any connection to the Indian government, asserting that such inquiries should be directed to the RCMP, as reported by CTV News.

"I have full confidence in the security apparatus of the government of Canada and the work of the RCMP, and the work that the (Canadian) Security Intelligence Service does," Leblanc affirmed.

"The police operation that you see ongoing today confirms that the RCMP take these matters extremely seriously. But questions with respect to particular links or non-links are properly put to the RCMP," he added.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by the National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed as he came out of a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on the evening of June 18, 2023.

The video of his killing that reportedly surfaced in March recently, showed Nijjar being shot by armed men in what has been described as a 'contract killing'.

The killing led to accusations from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the government of India had a hand in the killing -- a claim that was denied by India and led to the deterioration of diplomatic ties between Canada and India.