A 40-year-old Sikh man has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally stabbing his wife at their home in Canada's British Columbia province, police said.
Navinder Gill was charged last week for stabbing 40-year-old Harpreet Kaur Gill on December 7 in Surrey, a Canadian police statement said.
On December 7, police responded to a stabbing report and found Harpreet Kaur Gill with life-threatening injuries resulting from multiple stab wounds at her home.
She succumbed to her injuries after being rushed to a hospital.
The accused, identified as the victim's husband, was taken in custody at the scene as a suspect by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) but was released a day later as investigations continued, the statement said.
According to the statement, he was rearrested on December 15 by IHIT investigators with the support of the Surrey Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and charged with second-degree murder on December 16.
Three Indian-origin Canadians have been killed in separate incidents in Canada since November.
A 21-year-old Sikh woman, Pawanpreet Kaur, was shot to death in a 'targeted' attack on December 3 in the Ontario province. A 24-year-old Indian-origin Sikh man died of gunshot wounds in the Canadian province of Alberta on the same day. In November, an 18-year-old Indian-origin teenager, Mehakpreet Sethi, was stabbed to death at a high school parking lot in the British Columbia province.
(PTI)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.