Kanishka bombing suspect’s killers plead guilty in Canada

The two killers of Air India Kanishka bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik are set to get a sentence for the murder after they pleaded guilty in a Canadian court on Monday.

As per a report in South China Morning Post, a court in New Westminster, British Columbia, has accepted the “guilt pleas” of the two killers, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez.

They had shot dead Malik on July 14, 2022, in Surrey, British Columbia. Malik was a prime accused in the Air India bombings that killed 331 persons in 1985. He was later acquitted.

The court has asked Fox and Lopez to appear on October 31 for sentencing.

The South China Morning Post quoted a statement issued by the family of Malik that they were “grateful” the killers were being brought to justice, but wish the two men to cooperate with the police “in bringing those that hired you to justice”.

“Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were hired to commit the murder,” the statement said. “Until the parties responsible for hiring them and directing this assassination are brought to justice, the work remains incomplete,” it said.

The motive behind the murder remains unclear. It was alleged that Malik had a running feud with Khalistani leader Hardeep Nijjar over printing of copies of Guru Granth Sahib in Canada. Nijjar was killed by gunmen a year later in Surrey.

The Canadian police have been linking the two murders, but no concrete evidence has been shared.