A suspect in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar has said in a social media video that he entered Canada on a 'study permit' which only took him days to obtain.
The accused, Karan Brar, stated in a 2019 online video that he had applied for a student visa with EthicWorks Immigration Services in Bathinda, Punjab, India.
According to a translation of his Punjabi-language statement, he received his study visa days later, as per Global News.
The promotional video and a picture of Brar, who the firm claimed was from Kotkapura, a city north of Bathinda, were uploaded on EthicWorks' Facebook page.
"Congratulations, Karan Brar, on your Canada study visa," the caption below the video read. "One more happy client from Kotkapura," Global News reported.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller declined to answer questions about how the suspects arrived in Canada. Online posts suggest that Brar came on a student permit three years before the killing.
According to another Facebook page purportedly owned by Brar, he moved to Edmonton on May 4, 2020, after starting his studies at Bow Valley College in Calgary on April 30, 2020, Global News reported.
Three men, Brar (22), Karanpreet Singh (28), and Kamalpreet Singh (22) were arrested in Edmonton on Friday. They have been accused of murder and conspiracy and appeared in court in Surrey, British Columbia on Tuesday.
It's worth noting that the relationship between India and Canada has been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of killing Nijjar. However, India has denied the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated".
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