Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia
A man rides a bike outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June Image Credit: The Canadian Press

Vancouver: Canadian police on Friday arrested three men over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver last year, whose death has been linked to the Indian government.

Get exclusive content with Gulf News WhatsApp channel

Three Indian nationals, two aged 22 and one aged 28, were arrested on Friday morning and charged with first degree murder and conspiracy charges. They are accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout on the day Nijjar was killed.

They were arrested by police in Edmonton, in the neighboring province of Alberta, where they reside, and are being held behind bars pending further proceedings.

All had been in Canada for between three and five years, police said at a news conference on Friday.

Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015, advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.

He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.

On June 18, 2023, he was shot dead by masked assailants in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he lead in suburban Vancouver.