A timeline about the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Police in British Columbia say they have charged three Indian nationals with the killing of Sikh activist and gurdwara leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., last year. Here is a timeline related to the killing, which triggered a diplomatic dispute between Canada and India.

2023

June 18 — Hardeep Singh Nijjar is shot dead outside the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C.

Sept. 1 — Canada pauses trade negotiations with India

Sept. 10 — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have a tense exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi

Sept. 15 — Canada postpones a planned October trade mission to India

Sept. 18 — Trudeau tells the House of Commons there is credible intelligence about a potential link between India’s government and the killing of Nijjar

Sept. 18 — Canada expels a top Indian diplomat and a senior Canadian diplomat is expelled from India in return

Sept. 21 — India suspends visa service for Canadians

Oct. 19 — Canada recalls 41 diplomats from India after the Indian government revokes their diplomatic immunity

Oct. 25 — India resumes some visa services for Canadians

Nov. 29 — An indictment is unsealed in New York alleging a murder-for-hire plot by an Indian national. The indictment alleges an Indian government employee directed the attempted assassination in the United States, and spoke about others, including Nijjar’s killing in Canada

2024

May 3 — Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh are arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Nijjar’s death

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press