In Canada, two pleaded guilty to killing a man acquitted in the Air India bombing | Court News

Ripudaman Singh Malik, acquitted in 2005 of the attack that killed 329 people, was shot dead in British Columbia in 2022.

Two men have pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to second-degree murder for their role in the murder of Sikh businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing.

Malik and a co-defendant were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy in the June 23, 1985 bombing of the plane, causing it to crash in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 passengers and crew. This is Canada’s worst-ever plane crash.

On the same day, another bomb exploded at the Tokyo airport, killing two Japanese baggage handlers. This bomb is believed to have been targeted at another Air India flight to Bangkok and exploded prematurely.

On Monday, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez pleaded guilty in connection with the 2022 shooting death of 75-year-old Malik.

Sentencing of both people, originally charged with first-degree murder, is scheduled for Oct. 31.

The case has come under renewed scrutiny amid rising tensions between India and Canada after Ottawa accused New Delhi government agents of involvement in the June 2023 murder of prominent Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.

In May, it was reported that investigators were also looking into whether India was behind the murder of Malik, who was once a supporter of the separatist Khalistan movement for the Sikh nation in India.

Although the movement has lost traction in India, it enjoys strong support among sections of the Sikh diaspora in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

At the time of the Air India bombings, investigators blamed them on Sikh separatists who were widely believed to have sought revenge for the deadly Indian army assault on the Golden Temple – the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion – in the state of Punjab a year earlier.

In a statement, Malik’s family said that while they are “grateful” for Fox and Lopez to be brought to justice, “the work is not done” as they urged the two men to cooperate with police “to bring justice to those who hired you.” .

“Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were hired to commit this murder,” he added in a statement.

Court documents show that both Fox and Lopez have criminal records.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reported that a fight broke out between the two suspects in court, after which the sheriff broke up the fight and forced them to the ground.

Malik was shot and killed in his vehicle outside his business in Surrey, British Columbia on July 14, 2022.

Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, said family members had never heard of Fox or Lopez and didn’t know why anyone would kill his father.

Malik’s family also called the killing an attack, without identifying who they believe was the perpetrator.

Earlier this month, Canadian police said they had established a special unit to investigate numerous cases of extortion, coercion and violence, including murders linked to Indian government agents.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats who were named by police as persons of interest in the case, and India expelled six Canadian diplomats.

Canadian police alleged that the diplomats used their position to collect information on Canadians belonging to the Khalistan movement and passed it on to criminal gangs that directly targeted individuals, a charge India denies.