Three charged over killing of Sikh activist in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that Canadian intelligence agencies had determined there were “credible allegations between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar”.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said that day in Parliament.

India denied the allegations outright.

Trudeau did not provide much detail on the allegations, but stood by them through a diplomatic spat with India, and relative quiet from Canada’s allies.

"We're not looking to provoke or cause problems," he said last year. "We're standing up for the rules-based order."

Stay with us as we bring you a recap and more lines that came out of the briefing.

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Superintendent Mandeep Mooker is still taking questions.

Asked by a reporter if those in Canada's Sikh community had been afraid to speak up and provide evident, Mooker says his investigation has relied on their support.

"We would not be at this point without the bravery and courage of the Sikh community coming forward with information for this investigation," he says, adding that he believes they will continue to come forward for any future investigations.

Asked about collaboration with India on this investigation, Superintendent Mooker says it has been "rather challenging and rather difficult for the last several years" to do so.

The suspects, "were not known to the police" before the investigation into Nijjar's death, says Mooker.

He added that the group have lived in Canada for between three to five years.

Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, who leads the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, has named the three suspects arrested. They are:

1. Karan Brar (22)
2. Kamalpreet Singh (22)
3. Karanpreet Singh (28)

Mooker said all are Indian nationals who had been living in Edmonton, Alberta.

They have been charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to Nijjar's killing, he says.

"We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we are committed to finding and arresting all of these individuals," he says.

Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, who is leading the news conference, says investigations are ongoing, including into "connections with the government of India".

He said that police would not discuss the specific evidence of the three suspects.

The details of the probe given out today "are not the complete account of the investigative work currently under way", he says.

"There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters. Certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today," he said.

"And these efforts include investigating connections to the Government of India."

Canadian officials had previously said there was "credible" evidence "agents of the government of India" carried out the assassination of Nijjar.

India has always strongly denied any involvement.

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Stay with us as we bring you the latest. You can watch live by pressing play at the top of this page.

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Nijar was an outspoken advocate for Khalistan, a movement that seeks to create an independent homeland for Sikhs.

Sikhs are a religious minority that make up 2% of India’s population and some 60% of the Indian state of Punjab.

In the 1970s Sikhs launched an insurgency in which thousands of people died. It was quelled the following decade.

Since then, the movement has been mostly limited to countries with large Sikh populations such as Canada and the UK. There are an estimated 1.4 to 1.8 million Canadians of Indian origin and the country has the largest population of Sikhs outside of Punjab.

The movement is banned in India but supporters still continue to call for a separate state.

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In September of last year, Trudeau rose in Parliament and said there was “credible” evidence suggesting that “agents of the government of India” had carried out the assassination.

Trudeau did not provide much detail, or explain why he had made the accusation, saying only that it was based on intelligence gathered by the Canadian government.

India’s foreign ministry called the claims “absurd” and politically motivated.

A couple of months later, the US made its own allegations, charging an Indian national with a plot to kill at least four Sikh separatists in North America, a case with links to the murder of Nijjar.

Experts told the BBC at the time that US case had only added weight to Trudeau’s claims.

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Nijjar was shot dead by two masked gunman while sitting in his vehicle in the busy car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia.

Witnesses told the BBC that he was shot through the window as he sat behind the wheel of his vehicle.

Some bystanders gave chase and said they saw the suspects speed off in a waiting car.

Police said that 45-year-old Nijjar died at the scene.

The murder outraged supporters, shocked Canadians and triggered a major diplomatic row after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said there was evidence suggesting India might have been involved, accusations firmly denied by Delhi.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was born in the district of Jalandhar in the north Indian state of Punjab.

In 1997, he moved to Canada where he married, became a citizen, had two sons and worked as a plumber.

Nijjar became a vocal advocate for the creation of Khalistan - a separate homeland for Sikhs, a religious minority in India.

Last June, he was shot and killed by two gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver’s suburbs.

He had been labelled a terrorist by India, and accused of being the “mastermind” of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a banned militant group in the country.

Supporters and friends of Nijjar have said these claims are unfounded, and claimed he had received threats in the past because of his activism.

You can read more about him here.

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Canadian authorities are holding a news conference shortly in relation to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver last year.

Nijjar was killed by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple.

Canada’s CBC News reports that three suspects have been arrested over his death.

Nijjar’s death shocked Canadians, and damaged relations between Canada and India.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” that India had been involved.

The Indian government vehemently denied playing any role, and called the allegations “absurd”.

Follow our live coverage as we bring you the latest updates from the police conference.