Hardeep Nijjar Killing: Suspect Says He Entered Canada Using ‘Study Permit’

Ottawa: In the latest development in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing case, one of the suspects stated that he entered Canada on a ‘study permit’ which only took him days to obtain. The suspect said it on a social media video, Canada-based global news reported. Accused named Karan Brar stated that he applied for a student visa through Bhatinda-based EthicWorks Immigration Services. The video was posted in 2019.

The accused promotional video and picture, which the firm claimed was from Kotkapura and were uploaded on EthicWorks’ Facebook page.

“Congratulations Karan Brar for the Canada study visa,” the caption below the video read. “One more happy client from Kotkapura,” reported Global News.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has declined to answer questions about how the suspects came to Canada, but online posts indicate that Brar arrived on a student permit three years before the killing.

According to another Facebook page purportedly owned by Brar, he moved to Edmonton on May 4, 2020, after starting his studies at Bow Valley College in Calgary on April 30, 2020, Global News reported.

However, questions concerning the subject have not yet received a response from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Brar, 22, Karanpreet Singh, 28, and Kamalpreet Singh, 22, were all taken into custody in Edmonton on Friday. They are accused of murder and conspiracy; they appeared in court in Surrey, British Columbia on Tuesday.

Members of the Sikh Community from British Columbia crowded a Surrey courtroom on Tuesday as three Indian nationals accused of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing made their first court appearance by video, according to Globe and Mail, a Canada-based news website.

As the trio, dressed in orange jumpsuits, appeared before court, pro-Khalistani protesters chanted slogans and held placards, outside the Surrey provincial court, blaming India’s government for the killing.

The three men were taken into custody in Edmonton last week on Friday and are accused of first-degree murder and murderous conspiracy in connection with the June 2023 shooting of Nijjar, which severely damaged Canada’s relations with India.

Notably, ties between India and Canada have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused agents of the Indian government of killing Nijjar. However, India has dismissed the accusations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed as he came out of a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year. The video of his killing that reportedly surfaced in March this year showed Nijjar being shot by armed men in what has been described as a “contract killing.”

Last week, Canadian police released photographs of all three persons arrested in the killing of India-designated terrorist, Nijjar last year amid an ongoing probe into alleged connections of the Indian government.

Canadian law enforcement has released photos of the trio suspected of a murder in Surrey, along with the vehicle they were last seen in. On May 3, the Surrey RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team disclosed that three men were taken into custody in connection with the June 2023 slaying of Nijjar. Their capture was thanks to the collective efforts of multiple policing agencies.