Three weeks after gunshots were fired at the house of Simranjeet Singh, a friend of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian police arrested two teen boys for the crime. Royal Canadian Mounted Police has said that two teenagers have been charged with the shooting incident, adding there no evidence of foreign interference have been found. Notably, as per reports, one of the boys is the son of Simranjeet Singh.
The incident took place at around 1.20 AM on 1st February in the South Surrey residence of Simranjeet Singh located near the 2800 block of 154 Street. While shots were fired at the house, nobody was injured. The home and the car parked on site was riddled with bullets.
RCMP said that two 16-year-olds were arrested on 12 February and are being held in custody. The accused are awaiting their next court appearance. The British Columbia Prosecution Service has approved charges of discharging a firearm into a place and possessing a loaded prohibited firearm against the teenagers. Police said that they seized three firearms and multiple electronic devices from the accused.
The shooting at Simranjeet Singh’s house took place just a few days after he organised a pro-Khalistan protest at the Indian consulate in Vancouver.
While the identities of the accused have not been revealed as they are minors, some media reports are claiming that one of the two is a son is a son of Simranjeet Singh, and the shooting was the result of a family feud. According to unconfirmed reports, one of the boys is the son of Singh’s first wife, and he allegedly wanted revenge on Singh for mistreating his mother.
Notably, after the incident, Khalistani groups in Canada had blamed Indian govt for the attack. British Columbia Gurdwara Council spokesperson Moninder Singh had said that Simranjeet Singh was targeted by India. He had said, “This isn’t extortion, this isn’t a local matter, this isn’t a personal matter, this is a political matter. It’s extended, now again, from New Delhi, and landed in our lap in Canada which is extremely unfortunate.”
Moninder Singh had also alleged that the shooting incident was linked to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot and killed in broad daylight outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey in 2023.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice had also made similar allegations against India, saying that Simranjeet Singh is a member of the Khalistan movement and an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. These allegations were in line of Canadian govt’s allegation that India was behind the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
However, now RCMP has denied all these allegations, saying that investigators have not established any links to foreign interference. “There was speculation circulating that this was connected to foreign interference. Investigators have not established any links to foreign interference in relation to this matter,” said a statement issued by the RCMP.
After this clarification, the Sikh community has demanded an apology from BC Gurdwara Council for blaming India. They have said that the council spokesperson lied and tried to mislead the investigation into the shooting.
