Two men plead guilty to killing Ripudaman Singh Malik in Canada

Toronto: Two men have pleaded guilty to the murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik, a suspect in the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing, Canadian police confirmed today. Malik was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia, on July 14, 2022.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the court in New Westminster, British Columbia, accepted the confessions of the two accused, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez. The sentencing for both is scheduled for October 31.

Malik, a key suspect in the Air India bombing, which claimed 331 lives, had been acquitted of all charges. Authorities allege that Fox and Lopez were hired to carry out the murder. However, the motive behind the crime remains unclear.

Speculation suggests a potential link to Malik’s reported dispute with Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar over the printing of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib in Canada.

Nijjar was also killed by gunmen in Surrey a year later. Canadian authorities are investigating possible connections between the two murders, though no definitive evidence has emerged so far.