Two men, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez, have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Ripudaman Singh Malik, the Sikh businessman acquitted of the 1985 Air India bombing, Al Jazeera reports.
The guilty plea comes amidst heightened tensions between India and Canada, following accusations that India’s government was involved in the killing of another prominent Sikh activist.
Malik, who was found not guilty of the bombing that killed 329 people in 1985, was shot dead in his vehicle in July 2022. Fox and Lopez, who were originally charged with first-degree murder, will be sentenced on October 31.
The case has drawn renewed scrutiny in light of accusations by Canadian officials that Indian government agents were involved in the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and prominent Sikh activist. Investigations are also reportedly probing a possible connection between India and the killing of Malik, a former supporter of the Khalistan movement, which advocates for a separate Sikh nation in India.
The Air India bombings in 1985, considered Canada’s worst air disaster, were blamed on Sikh separatists seeking revenge for the Indian Army’s attack on the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, in Punjab state a year prior.
In a statement, Malik’s family expressed gratitude for the conviction of Fox and Lopez, but stressed the work was not complete, urging the men to cooperate with police to bring those who hired them to justice.
The Vancouver Sun reported a fistfight between the two suspects in court, forcing authorities to intervene. Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, expressed confusion about the motives behind his father’s killing, stating the family had never heard of Fox or Lopez. The family characterized the murder as an assassination, without naming a suspected mastermind.
The case has further escalated tensions between Canada and India, with Canada expelling six Indian diplomats and India retaliating with the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats. Canadian authorities alleged that the Indian diplomats collected information on Canadians involved in the Khalistan movement and passed it to criminal gangs for targeted attacks, accusations India has denied.
