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Malik’s eldest son Jaspreet told reporters outside the family’s $6.8 million South Surrey home on Friday that his father was not worried about security and was focused on his business.
Publication date:
July 15, 2022 • 42 minutes ago • 4 minutes to read • Join the conversation Various police agencies are investigating the death of Ripudaman Singh Malik at 8236 128th Street in Surrey, British Columbia, Thursday morning, July 14, 2022. Malik, a prominent businessman from Surrey, was acquitted in 2015 in the Air India bombing that killed hundreds of people in 1985. Pictured is an unidentified woman, identity withheld, at the crime scene. (Photo by Jason Payne/PNG) Photo by Jason Payne/PNG
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It was business as usual on Friday at the Surrey office where Ripudaman Singh Malik was gunned down a day earlier.
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Several workers unloaded stacks of boxes from a red container outside the front door of Papillon Eastern Imports, which Malik founded as a Gastown store in the early 1970s.
The police tape that had marked the crime scene at 8236 128th St. was gone.
There was no sign of where a shooter or shooters opened fire on the 75-year-old man at 9:27 a.m. Thursday as he sat in the driver’s seat of his Tesla.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released chilling video Friday of a white Honda CRV driving through the parking lot of the complex where Papillon is based about 80 minutes before the shooting. It looks like there’s more than one person inside.
IHIT is asking for any witnesses or anyone traveling in the 8200 block of 128th Street, Surry, as well as in the area of 122nd Street and 82nd Avenue between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. with dash cams or who has any information regarding the homicide of Ripudaman Singh Malik is asked to contact IHIT. Photo by Castillo, Erin /jpg
IHIT Sergeant David Lee said the CRV, which was later found burned out at 122A Street and 82nd Avenue, was linked to Malik’s targeted killing.
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“A review of surveillance video determined that this CRV arrived at 8236 128th St. shortly before the shooting and waited for Mr. Malik,” Lee said.
Anyone nearby who witnessed anything or has dashcam footage between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. is asked to contact investigators, he said.
Malik was a one-time Air India bombing suspect linked to the Sikh separatist movement. He was acquitted of murder and conspiracy charges in March 2005.
Ripudaman Singh Malik (centre) leaves British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia with his supporters after being found not guilty in the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, Wednesday March 16, 2005 Photo by RICHARD LAM/The Canadian Press
The controversial figure was also the founder of Khalsa Credit Union and Satnam Education Society, which run several independent schools and receive funding from the British Columbia government.
Malik used the school’s letterhead to write to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January, offering his support and thanking Modi for trying to address outstanding issues surrounding the treatment of Sikhs.
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Some criticized Malik for the letter, in which he also expressed support for a united India in contrast to his previous separatist stance.
Police have not yet determined a motive in the case, and Lee urged the public not to jump to conclusions, saying IHIT has “a number of investigative avenues available to us.”
“We understand that this is a high-profile international story. However, we urge (people) not to speculate on the motive as our homicide detectives will follow the evidence,” Lee said.
“These are complex cases and I can’t say specifically how long it might take.” It could be two weeks, two months, or two years. We cannot say because the investigation is ongoing at the moment.”
Postmedia spoke with more than a dozen people who knew Malik or who worked on the investigation into the June 23, 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people. No one believed Malik’s murder, which everyone described as shocking, had anything to do with the terror plot 37 years ago.
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Police investigate the murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik on July 14, 2022. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG
Retired Mt Doug Best, lead investigator of the evidence against Malik in the Air India bombings, said on Friday that “this shocking news brought back a flood of memories”.
“Malik was a prominent member of the Sikh community. While there were supporters, there were also enemies. I cannot speculate on the motives for his murder.
Malik’s eldest son Jaspreet told reporters outside the family’s $6.8 million South Surrey home on Friday that his father has no security concerns and is focused on his business and the volunteer work he does for his community .
“My dad never said anything to us that anyone ever threatened him or anything like that.”
Jaspreet Malik was working at his law office when his wife called him with the news on Thursday.
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“Yesterday was very surreal. I mean it’s very difficult to describe in words,” said Jaspreet Malik. “The whole day felt like a dream, just amazing. You can’t even imagine something like this happening in your life – you know, a family member getting shot. Not to mention your father being shot.
Malik’s son Jaspreet Malik speaks to reporters about his father’s murder on July 14, 2022 in Surrey. (Photo: Francis Georgian / Postmedia) Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG
He doubts the murder has anything to do with his father’s letter to Modi or the Air India case.
“I don’t believe it’s true. I think there must be some other reason or motive or something. I mean, I don’t know what that would be,” Jaspreet said.
But he believes the police will get to the bottom of it. “I have faith in the RCMP. I have faith – they will find out who did this.
For now, he wants his father to be remembered for his love of family – five children and eight grandchildren – and his seva (service) to his community.
“I think the important thing for people to understand about my father is (that he) dedicated his life to sewa,” he said. “He has devoted his life since the seventies to giving back.”
kbolan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kbolan
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