The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: A fourth Indian national has been charged by Canadian police in connection with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, had been listed as a Khalistani terrorist by the Indian government.
Earlier on May 3, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the arrest of three Indians for allegedly being part of a hit squad that targeted Nijjar outside of a Gurudwara in British Columbia in June 2023.
The Canadian prime minister Justine Trudeau had accused Indian government agents of being potentially involved in the shooting of Nijjar in September 2023, which triggered a sharp nose-dive in relations as India angrily dismissed the allegations and forced a downsize in Canadian diplomatic representation in India.
As per Canadian media, the fourth Indian, identified as 22-year-old Amandeep Singh had already been in the custody of Peel Regional Police in Ontario for unrelated firearms charges.
“IHIT pursued the evidence and gained sufficient information for the BC Prosecution Service to charge Amandeep Singh with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder,” said the police statement by British Columbia province’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
Citing the police statement, Canadian media reported that three cities in Canada – Brampton, Surrey and Abbotsford. Further, investigators said that they could not disclose any additional details due to current nature of investigations and legal procedures.
The first three Indians, Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh, had already been charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. All three appeared before the Surrey court house on video link on May 7.
India has said that they were informed about the arrests of the Indian nationals, but no diplomatic custody was granted as the three accused had not sought it so far.
While New Delhi had rejected the allegations, Canada’s case was strengthened after US prosecutors, in an unsealed indictment, suggested a connection between Nijjar’s killing and an alleged attempt to target a Khalistani lawyer in New York, supposedly orchestrated by by an Indian intelligence agent.
India responded by forming a high-level committee to address US allegations, but it has consistently criticised Canada, accusing it of harbouring Khalistani secessionist groups. Ottawa, in turn, has argued that India hasn’t provided evidence meeting Canadian legal standards for prosecution.