Police in Canada have apprehended a fourth suspect in the death of Sikh leader Nijjar

May 13 :
Canadian police announced on Saturday that they have detained a fourth individual in connection with the death of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. This issue has caused tensions in diplomatic relations between Canada and India. Edmonton, Alberta, Canadian police reported earlier this month that they were investigating three Indian individuals for possible links to the Indian government and had arrested and charged all three.

The 22-year-old Amandeep Singh was accused on Saturday by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the killing of Nijjar.

The Indian national Singh was already in detention for other guns charges out of Peel, Ontario, according to IHIT. Singh lived in Brampton, Surrey, and Abbotsford.

Surrey is a Vancouver suburb with a significant Sikh population; in June, gunshots killed 45-year-old Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey. Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, caused a diplomatic crisis with New Delhi a few months later by citing what he believed to be proof of possible complicity by the Indian government.

Nijjar was a Sikh nationalist who lived in Canada and advocated for the partition of India to establish Khalistan. Since Nijjar was named a "terrorist" by New Delhi, Sikh separatist groups in Canada have been a source of frustration for the Indian capital.