One of the suspects accused in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar entered Canada with the help of a 'study permit' that he claimed took only days to obtain, as reported by Global News.
The accused, Karan Brar, in a video posted online in 2019, said he applied for a student visa through EthicWorks Immigration Services in Bathinda, Punjab. He stated that he received his study visa days later, according to a translation of his Punjabi-language statement, as per Global News.
The promotional video was posted by EthicWorks on its Facebook page, along with a photo of Brar. According to the company, the photo was from the city of Kotkapura, north of Bathinda. “Congratulations Karan Brar for Canada study visa,” the caption below the video read, as quoted by Global News. “One more happy client from Kotkapura.”
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has refused to answer questions pertaining to the number of suspects who came to Canada, but online posts give indications that Brar arrived on a student permit three years before the killing. A separate Facebook page that seems to belong to Brar said that he started studying at Bow Valley College in Calgary on April 30, 2020, and moved to Edmonton on May 4, 2020.
A college spokesperson confirmed Karan Brar was enrolled in the Hospital Unit Clerk program in 2020, which spans eight months, as per Global News. This revelation raised questions about why he remained in the country years later. In a statement issued by the college later, it said that it had no “record of ever having an affiliation with a company named EthicWorks Immigration Services.”
On Friday, Brar, 22, was arrested in Edmonton along with Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28. The three, believed to be members of an alleged hit squad, appeared before the Surrey Provincial Court in British Columbia province on Tuesday, the Vancouver Sun reported.
Two of them allegedly shot Nijjar in the parking lot of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple on June 18, 2023, while the other drove the getaway car. The three accused were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.