Man acquitted in Air India bombing reportedly shot dead in Metro Vancouver

A man in Surrey has died after a shooting Thursday morning. Some local media outlets say the victim was a Vancouver businessman who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing case. 

The VOICE, an Indo-Canadian news outlet, said Ripudaman Singh Malik was the man killed in the fatal shooting near 82nd Avenue and 128th Street just before 9:30 am.

Mounties that attended the scene located a man suffering from gunshot wounds and gave him first aid until Emergency Health Services arrived. The man succumbed to his injuries on the scene.

Sukhwant Dhillon/AM 600 Sher-E-Punjab Radio

Police have not yet confirmed the identity of the man killed. Surrey RCMP told Daily Hive the investigation is in its early stages and has been taken over by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). 

Malik was acquitted in the Air India bombing case in 2005.

“Sources tell The VOICE that Malik may have been targeted because he reportedly wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his ‘deep heartfelt gratitude’ for the unprecedented positive steps taken by his government for the Sikh community, as reported by the Hindustan Times newspaper of India on January 18,” the outlet says.

This is the plaza in Surrey where well known businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik shot dead this morning. pic.twitter.com/Gnz1meuYG3

— Gurpreet S. Sahota (@GurpreetSSahota) July 14, 2022

Surrey RCMP has confirmed this incident appears to be a targeted shooting and that a suspect vehicle engulfed in flames was found near 82nd Avenue and 121A Street. 

Mounties say they are still looking for suspects and a second vehicle that may have been used as a getaway car.

Sukhwant Dhillon/AM 600 Sher-E-Punjab Radio

The bombing of Air India flight 182 is the worst act of terrorism ever committed against Canadians and the deadliest attack on the travelling public until 9/11 happened. The plane was blown out of the sky by Khalistani separatist terrorists over Ireland. All 329 people aboard were killed, as well as two baggage handlers at Narita Airport in Japan.

The bombs and terrorist plots were conceived and executed in Canada.

You might also like:
• Lessons not yet learned: reflecting on the bombing of Air India 182
• What Canada is doing right in response to the Iran plane crash
• Opinion: BC mainstream media continues to negatively portray its South Asian community

Malik, who runs Khalsa schools in Canada, was charged along with Ajaib Singh Bagri in 2000 with 329 counts of first-degree murder in connection to the attack in 1985. 

In 2005, the pair were acquitted.

Inderjit Singh Reyat of Duncan, BC, was the only one convicted in connection with the bombing. He served time for manslaughter as well as perjury, and was released from prison in 2016.  

Anyone who has information about Thursday’s incident, dash camera footage, or video surveillance from the area is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca.