The Canadian Police on Saturday (May 11) arrested a fourth person and charged him with the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced Saturday that Amandeep Singh (an alleged Indian national)hasbeen chargedwith first-degree murder and conspiracy to murderNijjar, the news agency Reuters reported.
Singh's arrest came days after the policearrested and charged three men (alleged Indian nationals) in the city of Edmonton in Alberta. The three menwere identifiedasKaranpreetSingh, 28, KamalpreetSingh, 22, and Karan Brar, 22.
On Tuesday (May 7), the threeappeared briefly in a British Columbia courtroom, wearing prison uniforms.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45,was shot dead in June 2023 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey. Nijjar was labelled a terrorist by the Indian government in 2020.
In September last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Ottawapursuingallegations linking Indian government agents to the murder. New Delhi rejected Trudeau's claim as absurd.
On Thursday, the Indian government saidthat itwould wait for Canadian authoritiesto share information on Karanpreet, Kamalpreet, and Karan. Addressing a press conference, Indian Foreign Ministry spokespersonRandhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi was aware of the arrest but has not received a formal communication from Canada regarding the case.
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"We have long maintained that separatists, extremists and those advocating violence have been given political space in Canada. Our diplomats have been threatened with impunity and obstructed in theirperformance ofduties. We have also pointed out to the Canadian authorities that figures associated with organised crime with links in India have been allowed entry and residency," Jaiswal said.
"Many of our extradition requests are pending with them. We are having discussions at the diplomatic level on all these matters with the Canadian side,"headded.
(With inputs from agencies)