Hours before Ripudaman Singh Malik was shot and killed in Surrey, British Columbia, on Thursday, a white Honda CRV pulled up at the scene of the shooting.
“The residents were waiting for Mr. Malik,” Sgt. David Lee of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said at a press conference on Friday.
Authorities obtained surveillance video showing the vehicle arriving at 8236 128th Street, a complex where Malik operated a business, around 7 a.m.
He was fatally shot at 9:27 am
A witness, who did not want to be identified, told CTV News he heard three gunshots and ran to find Malik slumped in another vehicle with a single bullet wound to the neck.
The 75-year-old, who was one of two men acquitted of the infamous Air India bombings in 1985, died at the scene despite police efforts to provide medical attention.
Shortly after the shooting, authorities said the same Honda CRV was found fully engulfed in flames near 82nd Avenue and 122A Street, less than two kilometers away.
Investigators have urged anyone who saw the vehicle at either location or who has dashcam or surveillance video related to the case to come forward.
So far, although police believe Malik was targeted, the motive for the shooting is unclear. Lee said the adult had no recent involvement with police.
“We understand this is an international story of great importance, but we urge not to speculate on the motive,” Lee added. “Our Homicide investigators will be following the evidence.”
The killing drew mixed reactions from the community, with many mourning Malik as co-founder of Khalsa School and Khalsa Credit Union. At the scene of the shooting, some who knew him were visibly shaken as police swarmed the complex.
Others, who continue to suspect that Malik was involved in the Air India attack, which remains the worst mass killing in Canadian history, had more complicated feelings.
Dr Bal Gupta, chairman of the Air India Victims’ Families Association, said he had never felt a sense of justice for the atrocity and Malik’s shooting did not change that.
“He remains a suspect in our eyes, there’s no doubt about that,” Gupta said. “But this type of thing shouldn’t happen in Canada.
Gupta’s wife of more than 20 years was among the 329 people on board Air India Flight 182 when it exploded mid-air en route to Mumbai.
“I fell asleep after getting her on the plane and woke up as a single father of two boys, 12 and 18 at the time. I can never forget that,” he said.
Only one person – bomb maker Inderjit Singh Reyat – was convicted in connection with the attack.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2003 and was later convicted of perjury for lying repeatedly while testifying at the trial of Malik and his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were charged with mass murder and conspiracy. Both were acquitted.
Prosecutors argued that Malik was seeking revenge for the Indian government’s 1984 attack on the Golden Temple while trying to drive armed militants from Sikhism’s holiest place of worship in Amritsar.
Gupta said the attack remains a stark reminder of the danger posed by extremism in all its forms — a danger he said remains a threat in Canada.
“The extremism that has become part of Canadian society needs to be controlled,” he said. “I hope this does not lead to another Air India tragedy.”
With files from Michele Brunoro and Regan Hasegawa of CTV News Vancouver
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