One of two men who pleaded guilty to shooting the suspect in the 1985 Air India bombing also faces weapons-related criminal charges in Kelowna.

Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75 at the time of his death, was shot dead at one of his businesses in Surrey, British Columbia, in July 2022, in what a statement of agreed facts read in the courtroom of Vancouver called it a “contractual” killing.

TTwo men, Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the weeks following Malik’s death.

The couple recently took responsibility for the shot and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. However, they remained discreet about the motivations for this assassination.

Malik’s son, Jaspreet Singh Malik, said in a statement that no one in his family had ever heard of Fox or Lopez. He said he didn’t know why anyone would kill his father.

“Tanner Fox and José Lopez were hired to commit this murder,” read a statement from Malik’s family. “Until those responsible for their recruitment and the organization of this assassination are brought to justice, the work will remain incomplete.”

Lopez also faces nine criminal charges in Kelowna, including uttering threats and possessing a firearm and Fox is facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of Chad Colivas of Abbotsford. Fox and Lopez will next appear in court on October 31.

Malik left India for Canada in 1972, and founded and ran several businesses in Surrey, including Khalsa Schools and Khalsa Credit Union, a bank specializing in serving the Sikh community in British Columbia.

According to court documents, The 1985 passenger plane bombing, which killed more than 300 people, is believed to have taken place in response to the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple by the Indian government, during in which thousands of Sikh civilians were killed.

At the trial for the Air India bombing, Crown prosecutors alleged that Malik’s role in the terrorist attack was that of organizer and financier.

Although he did not testify at trial, Malik denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

Twenty years after the 1985 Air India bombing, in 2005, Malik was acquitted (found not guilty) of all charges due to insufficient evidence.

After the acquittal, Malik and his family continued to live in Surrey, British Columbia, and were active members of the Sikh community.

Six months before his death, Malik published letters in Indian media praising the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for responding to the “demands and grievances of the Sikhs”, including the elimination of blacklists which had prevented Sikh activists, including himself, from returning to India.

Malik’s allegedly “pro-Indian” stance as a prominent Sikh figure in British Columbia has been criticized by those involved in the conflict. Khalistan separatist movement, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the former president of Guru Nanak Gurdwara.

After Malik’s death, a a statement was sent to the Vancouver Sun saying that Nijjar, was not involved in the shooting at all.

Eleven months after Malik’s death, Nijjar was shot dead outside the Surrey Gurdwara where he was president, sending shockwaves across the country. THE The Canadian government has stated that it has evidence that The Nijjar shooting may have been a targeted killing carried out by people hired by the Indian government.

THE The Indian government, however, denies any claims that it worked with Canadian gangs to target Sikh separatists.

On October 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were involved in multiple instances of intimidation aimed at silencing supporters of an independent Sikh state.

With files from the Canadian Press