Three Indian nationals accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year have appeared before a Canadian court through video for the first time to face homicide charges in a case that has soured Canada-India relations.
Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, all Indian nationals residing in Edmonton, were arrested and charged on Friday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
They appeared separately by video in front of a packed Surrey provincial courtroom on Tuesday to acknowledge the charges of first-degree murder and conspiring to commit murder and to agree to have their cases adjourned to May 21 to give them time to consult with their lawyers, the Vancouver Sun newspaper reported.
The three – believed to be members of an alleged hit squad – appeared before the Surrey Provincial Court in British Columbia province, the report said.
Each of them appeared separately from North Fraser Pretrial Centre wearing jail-issued red T-shirts or sweatshirts and sweatpants.
Two of the accused appeared in the morning while Kamalpreet Singh’s appearance was delayed until after lunch to give him time to consult with a lawyer.
All three agreed to have the proceedings heard in English and each of them nodded that they understood the charges of first-degree murder and conspiring to murder Nijjar, the report said.