Police have arrested the hired killers of controversial Sikh leader Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was shot dead in a gangland style killing in Surrey on Thursday, July 14. Tanner Fox, 21, and Jose Lopez, 23, have been charged with first-degree murder but they are obviously hired guns and now police need to put their knee on the killers to reveal who paid for the hit. Malik, 75, was killed in a shooting at 8236 128 Street in Newton as he drove into work in the morning. As is the case in these killings, a suspect vehicle was found burning in the 12200 block of 82 Avenue after the shooting. Malik, famously dubbed “The Rupee Man” for his alleged role in financing Sikh extremism, was first publicly exposed in an Aaj Magazine feature by writers R. Paul Dhillon (DESIBUZZCanada founder) and Khurram Saeed in the late 1990s for his role and connection to the Air India bombing.
By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada
SURREY – Police have arrested the hired killers of controversial Sikh leader Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was shot dead in a gangland style killing in Surrey on Thursday, July 14.
Tanner Fox, 21, and Jose Lopez, 23, have been charged with first-degree murder but they are obviously hired guns and now police need to put their knee on the killers to reveal who paid for the hit.
Malik, 75, was killed in a shooting at 8236 128 Street in Newton as he drove into work in the morning
As is the case in these killings, a suspect vehicle was found burning in the 12200 block of 82 Avenue after the shooting.
Malik, famously dubbed “The Rupee Man” for his alleged role in financing Sikh extremism, was first publicly exposed in an Aaj Magazine feature by writers R. Paul Dhillon (DESIBUZZCanada founder) and Khurram Saeed in the late 1990s for his role and connection to the Air India bombing.
Malik along with Ajaib Singh Bagri were tried for the Air India bombing and both were acquitted for lack of evidence and both fiercely proclaimed their innocence.
Malik is a controversial figure who received loans from State Bank of India in the 1980s and yet was accused by Canadian police of being the financier of the bombing which many Sikhs have said was orchestrated from the behind the scenes by Indian government agents with backing of then PM Indira Gandhi to give Sikhs a bad name internationally. Only one man Inderjit Reyat was convicted of anything connected to the bombing but he is believed not to be the people who actually transported the bombs on to Air India planes.
Lately Malik was in the news for supporting India’s rightwing PM Narendra Modi, saying Sikhs should support him as he is a friend of Sikhs and not get involved in anti-India activities. It’s not known who is behind Malik’s killing but the suspect list would be large from militant Sikhs to Indian government agents and many other dark elements in between.
Malik his group also got into a controversy a while ago for illegally printing the Sikh scriptures, The controversial Satnam Education Trust head Malik admitted that indeed his organization, which includes Balwant Singh Pandher, has been printing the “Saroops” of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji without authorization of Akal Takht or Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) by Satnam Parchar Religious Society.
The printing of Saroops of Sikh holy book by any individual or organization is prohibited, as per a Hukamnama (an official order) issued by Jathedar Singh Sahib Ranjit Singh Ji on April 9, 1998. By printing saroops without community consultation or permission from Akal Takht Sahib, Malik and his organization have come under fire from local Sikhs as well as the Akal Takht, calling for Malik and Pandher to be punished for hurting Sikh sentiment.
Malik, the former Air India bombing suspect, told a reporter in a recent video interview that he printed the Saroops to spread the Gurus’ great message through the holy book and that if Akal Takht wants to punish him, he’s ready for it, as he was only doing so as service to Sikhi.
The only man held accountable for the Air India bombing was Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February 2003 and was sentenced to five years in prison. Reyat paid for the sins of all involved in the Air India bombing and actually served over 20 years in jail.