4 Indians linked to Nijjar murder make brief court appearance in Canada
There was little progress in the trial as the Crown, the prosecutor, continues to deal with procedural matters relating to sharing of material related to the case with the lawyers for the four defendants
Toronto: The four Indian nationals arrested in connection with the murder of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar, made a brief appearance in a court in British Columbia, on Wednesday.
There was little progress in the trial as the Crown, the prosecutor, continues to deal with procedural matters relating to sharing of material related to the case with the lawyers for the four defendants. The case has been adjourned till October 1.
All four appeared virtually from holding facilities: Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, from BC, and 22-year-old Amandeep Singh from Ontario.
According to the outlet Surrey Now Leader, Crown prosecutor Louise Kenworthy told Surrey provincial court Judge Mark Jetté the defence has received about 10,000 pages of disclosure and will get a similar number in a week, while the entire process could “take some months more”.
Amandeep Singh made his first court appearance on May 15, while the other three appeared before a judge on May 7. May 21 was the first time all four appeared together in a court. All four are facing charges related to first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Amandeep Singh was already in custody of the Peel Regional Police or PRP when he was named in the Nijjar case. He was arrested in November 2023 on nine charges including those related to unauthorised possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.
The others were arrested from in and around Edmonton on May 3 and brought to BC for the trial.
Canadian investigators are yet to announce any link to the Indian Government in relation to the murder. However, on May 3, Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, Commander of the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, said there were “separate and distinct investigations ongoing” including “investigating connections to the Government of India.”
The killing of Nijjar on June 18, in Surrey, caused India-Canada relations to crater after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons three months later that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder. India reacted by saying those charges were “absurd” and “motivated.”