Study Permit Entry: Suspect Reveals Details in Hardeep Nijjar Killing Case
The suspect allegedly involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar revealed in a social media video that he entered Canada using a ‘study permit’, a process that reportedly took only days. Karan Brar, one of the accused, shared in a 2019 online video that he obtained his student visa through EthicWorks Immigration Services in Bathinda, Punjab, India, receiving it shortly afterward. The firm, celebrating his achievement, posted a congratulatory message on their Facebook page, identifying Brar as hailing from Kotkapura.
Reports suggest Brar arrived in Canada three years before the incident, moving to Edmonton in May 2020 after commencing studies at Bow Valley College in Calgary. However, inquiries regarding his immigration status have yet to be addressed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Brar, along with Karanpreet Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, was apprehended in Edmonton and appeared in court in Surrey, British Columbia, facing charges of murder and conspiracy. Their initial court appearance drew a crowd of Sikh community members, with pro-Khalistani demonstrators outside the courthouse expressing grievances against the Indian government.
The killing of Nijjar in June 2023 severely strained relations between Canada and India, particularly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implicated Indian government agents in the assassination. However, India refuted these allegations, dismissing them as baseless. Nijjar, previously designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency, was fatally shot outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, with a video of the incident surfacing later.
Last week, Canadian authorities released photographs of the three suspects arrested in connection with Nijjar’s killing, alongside images of the vehicle believed to have been used during the crime. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) collaborated with law enforcement agencies from British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Edmonton Police Service, in apprehending the suspects.
