One of the two men who pleaded guilty to shooting the suspect of the 1985 Air India bombing is also facing criminal weapons charges in Kelowna.
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75 at the time of his death, was shot at one of his businesses in Surrey B.C. in July 2022, in what a statement of agreed-upon facts read to the New Westminster courtroom called a 'contract' killing.
The pair recently took responsibility for the shooting and entered guilty pleas for second-degree murder. However, they have been tight-lipped about their motivations for the assassination.
Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, said, in a statement, that none of his family members have ever heard of Fox or Lopez. He said that he did not know why anyone would kill his father.
“Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were hired to commit this murder,” read a statement from Malik's family. “Until the parties responsible for hiring them and directing this assassination are brought to justice, the work remains incomplete."
Lopez is also facing nine criminal charges in Kelowna including uttering threats and possession of a firearm and Fox is facing a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Chad Colivas, of Abbotsford. Fox and Lopez will next appear in court on Oct. 31.
Malik moved from India to Canada in 1972, and founded and ran several businesses in Surrey, including Khalsa schools and the Khalsa Credit Union – a bank that specializes in serving B.C.'s Sikh community.
According to court documents, the 1985 bombing of the passenger plane, which caused the death of more than 300 people, was alleged to have been in response to the 1984 Golden Temple Attack by the Government of India, where thousands of Sikh civilians were killed.
During the Air India bombing trial, Crown Prosecutors alleged that Malik's role in the terrorist attack was as the organizer and financier.
While he did not testify in the trial, Malik denied all accusations of wrongdoing.
Twenty years after the 1985 Air India Bombing in 2005, Malik was acquitted (found not guilty) of all charges due to insufficient evidence.
Following the acquittal, Malik and his family continued to live in Surrey, B.C. and were active members of the Sikh community.
Six months before his death, Malik published letters in Indian news outlets praising the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addressing "Sikh demands and grievances" including the elimination of blacklists that had prevented Sikh activists, including himself, from returning to India.
Malik's alleged 'pro-India' stance as a prominent Sikh person in B.C. was met with criticism from those involved in the Khalistan separatist movement, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the former president of Guru Nanak Gurdwara.
Following Malik's death, a statement was sent to the Vancouver Sun saying that Nijjar, was not at all involved in the shooting.
Eleven months after Malik's death, Nijjar was shot and killed outside the Surrey Gurdwara where he was president, sending shock-waves across the country. The Canadian Government said it has evidence that the shooting of Nijjar may have been a targeted assassination carried out by people who were contracted by the Indian Government.
On Oct. 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were involved in multiple cases of intimidation aimed at quieting advocates for an independent Sikh state.
With files from the Canadian Press
