Two men charged with killing a Surrey man acquitted in the Air India terrorist attack are going to trial in B.C. Supreme Court in 2024.
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 75, was gunned down July 14, 2022 near his Newton office on Surrey’s 128 Street and died at the scene.
Police called it a targeted killing.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said those responsible fled in a white Honda CR-V. It was later found on fire at 122 Street and 82 Avenue.
Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were charged with first-degree murder in July 2022.
The two men were arrested without incident at their residences. Police in Abbotsford and New Westminster were part of the investigation.
The BC Prosecution Service said the B.C. Supreme Court judge and jury trial for Fox and Lopez is set for Oct. 1, 2024.
Setting the case for trial came after a preliminary inquiry in Surrey Provincial Court. Such inquiries are held to determine if enough evidence exists to proceed to trial. They are covered by a publication ban to avoid tainting a potential future jury.
Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 by a B.C. Supreme Court judge of charges that they masterminded the June 23, 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182 off Ireland.
Despite the Crown’s failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, families of the 329 victims held Malik and Bagri responsible for the worst terrorist incident of its type before 9/11.
Malik came to Canada in 1972 and was behind the Khalsa Credit Union and Khalsa schools. He supported the Sikh separatist movement and was banned from returning to India until 2019.
Early in 2022, Malik sparked criticism within the Indo-Canadian community for his letter praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
