TWO men have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Ripudaman Singh Malik, a man acquitted in connection with the 1985 Air India bombing case, according to reports from Canada.
Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez entered their pleas in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada on Monday. Their trial was set to begin for the 14 July 2022 killing of Malik, who was shot multiple times outside his family business in Surrey, British Columbia.
Malik, 75, was previously acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to the 1985 bombings that killed 331 people. He and co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri were cleared of involvement in the Air India disaster.
In court, it was revealed through an agreed statement of facts that the two men had been hired to kill Malik. “There was some type of financial incentive involved in the commission of this crime,” said Lopez's lawyer, Gloria Ng, according to Global News. However, further details about the motive remain unclear, she added.
Ng highlighted Lopez's young age and expressed hope for his rehabilitation.
Malik’s family, in a statement, described him as a dedicated family man and community leader. "While we are grateful the shooters are being brought to justice, nothing will erase the pain of losing a family member in this way," they said, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The family also urged the perpetrators to cooperate with authorities to bring those who hired them to justice, emphasizing that until those responsible are held accountable, "the work remains incomplete."
Both Crown and defence lawyers have agreed that Fox and Lopez should not be eligible for parole for 20 years. Their sentencing is scheduled for 31 October.
The 1985 Air India bombing is considered one of the worst terrorist attacks in Canadian history. A bomb exploded on Air India flight 182 on 23 June 1985, killing 329 people. Another bomb exploded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers. Inderjit Singh Reyat, who helped make the bombs, was the only person convicted and was released in 2016 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
(With inputs from PTI)
