Shots fired at B.C. home of Sikh activist, an associate of slain Nijjar, group says

Feb 2, 2024 | 10:24 AM

SURREY, B.C. — The spokesman for a group advocating Sikh independence says that a Metro Vancouver home hit by gunfire on Thursday belonged to a member of the movement.

Surrey RCMP say multiple shots were fired at a home in the 2800 block of 154 Street in Surrey at 1:21 a.m. in what is believed to be an isolated incident.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun with the group Sikhs For Justice says the home belongs to an member of the movement who is an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in a shooting last June that triggered a diplomatic row with India.

Pannun says Sikh communities in Canada believe both cases involved India targeting members of the Khalistani independence movement and are frustrated Canadian authorities aren’t doing more to warn people if they are at risk.

He says he’s concerned that Sikh Canadians in the community may take self-defence “upon themselves,” against what they believe to be Indian foreign interference.

Surrey RCMP say no one was injured in the shooting, but Pannun says a six-year-old child was in the home at the time and narrowly escaped injury.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons in September that there was credible intelligence India may have be involved in the June 18 killing of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara that he headed.

Sikhs for Justice has organized a series of unofficial referendums about Sikh independence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press