Ripudaman Singh Malik’s killers plead guilty to second-degree murder in a Canadian court

The killers of Sikh businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, a man acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing, pleaded guilty in a Canadian court.

Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez, the two killers, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2022. According to reports, both men entered their pleas before the Canadian Supreme Court of British Columbia on the eve of their first-degree murder trial.

According to a report by the Vancouver Sun, the two killers engaged in a fierce fistfight in the courtroom.

The two men “punched and struggled” for several minutes before the sheriff broke up the fight. Pushing the rioters to the ground, the officers handcuffed them and led them away.

According to the report, the verdict in the case of the accused is to be announced on October 31. A second-degree guilty plea gets them life in prison. However, it is not known how long they will have to serve before they can apply for parole, Canadian public broadcaster CBC reports.

Two assassins were hired to kill Malik, according to an agreed statement of facts released on Monday (October 21). However, it was not possible to determine from the evidence who hired them.

Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Sikh businessman, was shot dead outside his family business in Surrey, British Columbia on the morning of July 14, 2022.

Malik was one of two men acquitted in 2005 of the devastating twin bomb attack, one of Canada’s worst terrorist attacks.

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers on board. Most of the passengers were Canadian citizens visiting relatives in India. Another bomb exploded prematurely in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.

The explosions are believed to have been carried out by Sikhs living in Canada in retaliation for the 1984 storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Malik and his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagrib, were acquitted of mass murder and conspiracy charges in connection with the plane attacks after a two-year trial.

Malik’s family said in a statement that justice will not be served “until those responsible for employing them and masterminding this murder are brought to justice.”

(With the participation of the agency)