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Associated Press

Two men accused of killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Canadian court.
The courthouse in New Westminster, British Columbia, confirmed the pleas on Monday from Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez in the shooting death of Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 of two bombings that killed 331 people in 1985.
Fox and Lopez, who were originally charged with first-degree murder, will next appear in court on October 31 for sentencing.
In a statement, Malik’s family said while the family is “grateful” that Fox and Lopez were brought to justice, they are urging the two men to cooperate with police “in bringing those that hired you to justice”.

Malik, 75, was shot dead in his vehicle outside his business in Surrey, British Columbia, on July 14, 2022. He was a one-time supporter of the separatist Khalistan movement in India.
Malik and a co-defendant were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy in the 1985 Air India bombings. A high-altitude bombing of one plane caused it to crash in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew. The terror attack was the worst act of mass murder in Canadian history.
Roughly one hour later, a bomb destined for another Air India plane exploded prematurely at an airport in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.
Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man convicted in the bombings, testified for the prosecution at Malik and Bagri’s trial and was later convicted of perjury. The alleged suspects in the bombings were Sikhs in the Khalistan movement, an effort to create a separate homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab state.
Police said before charging Fox and Lopez that people waited for hours in a vehicle for Malik before the shooting.
Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, has said family members had never heard of Fox or Lopez, and he did not know why anyone would kill his father.

In the latest statement, the Malik family called the killing an assassination without identifying who they believe to be involved.
“Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were hired to commit this murder,” the statement said. “Until the parties responsible for hiring them and directing this assassination are brought to justice, the work remains incomplete.
“To Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez we say: You have taken a good first step in taking responsibility for your actions. Now take the next step and cooperate with the RCMP in bringing those that hired you to justice.”
Earlier this month, Royal Canadian Mounted Commissioner Mike Duheme said the force had launched a special unit to investigate multiple cases of extortion, coercion and violence, including murders, linked to agents of the Indian government.
Duheme said the RCMP were speaking out due to what it deemed as a serious threat to public safety.
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats who police have named as persons of interest in the cases. They were not specific about which murders may be involved in the allegations.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament last year that there was credible intelligence linking India’s government to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a temple leader shot while in his truck in the car park of the gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
Four men have been charged in that murder.
Police are alleging that diplomats used their position to collect information on Canadians within the Khalistan movement.
Mounties alleged the diplomats passed the information on to criminal gangs who targeted individuals directly, allegations that India has denied.
Court documents show both Fox and Lopez have previous criminal records.


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Canada

Pair plead guilty in Canada to murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Mali

Investigators at the scene of the shooting, in Surrey, British Columbia in 2022. File photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Debris from an Air India Boeing 747 in Cork, Ireland, following a crash in 1985. File photo: AFP

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Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, Canada, where Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in 2023. File photo: Reuters

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June, 2023. File photo: Instagram / BCSikh

The Indian High Commission building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Reuters

US charges ex-Indian intelligence officer in foiled Sikh separatist murder plot

A wanted poster shows Vikash Yadav, a former Indian government employee, wanted on criminal charges in connection with a foiled plot to kill a US citizen in New York City. Image: FBI via AP

Nikhil Gupta, 53, pleaded not guilty in June to involvement in the assassination plot. Photo: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

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Planes queue up on the tarmac before taking off at an airport in Mumbai, India. Photo: AFP

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An Air India aircraft on the tarmac at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The carrier has had several flights affected by the hoax threats. Photo: Bloomberg

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Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testifies at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on Wednesday. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

A motorist rides past the entrance of the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

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Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks past India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation site, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

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Ripudaman Singh Mali, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings, was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia in 2022


Ripudaman Singh Mali, who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings, was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia in 2022.
