Suspect in killing of temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar got student visa in days
gunning down B.C. Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar entered Canada using a study permit that he said took only days to obtain.In a video posted online in 2019, Karan Brar said he applied for a student visa through EthicWorks Immigration Services in Bathinda, in India’s Punjab state.“And in a few days I received my study visa,” he said.EthicWorks posted the promotional video on its Facebook page, along with a photo of Brar, whom the company said was from the city of Kotkapura, north of Bathinda.“Congratulations Karan Brar for Canada study visa,” the caption below the video read.
“One more happy client from Kotkapura.”Immigration Minister Marc Miller has declined to answer questions about how the suspects came to Canada, but online posts indicate that Brar arrived on a student permit three years before the killing.A separate Facebook page that appears to belong to Brar said he began studying at Bow Valley College in Calgary on April 30, 2020, and moved to Edmonton on May 4, 2020.A college spokesperson confirmed a Karan Brar was enrolled in the Hospital Unit Clerk program in 2020. The program spans eight months, raising questions about why he remained in Canada years later.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not yet responded to questions about the matter.Brar, 22, was arrested in Edmonton on Friday, along with Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karanpreet Singh, 28.
They appeared in court in Surrey, B.C. on Tuesday to face murder and conspiracy charges.Two of them allegedly shot Nijjar in the parking lot of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Temple on June 18, 2023, while the other drove the getaway car.Nijjar was a prominent leader of the Khalistan movement, which seeks independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab state.
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