Sikh activists marked the anniversary of the killing of British Columbia temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar by holding a mock murder trial for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday outside the Indian consulate in downtown Vancouver.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Singh said. “This crime was against a Canadian citizen and it was perpetrated on Canadian soil, however the conspiracy and ultimate responsibility was hatched thousands and thousands of kilometres away in India.” Singh said they convened a “peoples’ court” to demonstrate that Modi was responsible for Nijjar’s killing, calling the court a “voice for the voiceless.”
Ranjit Singh, who attended the mock trial, said he had been in Canada for 37 years and joined the movement for Khalistan in 1978. The New York-based activist who himself was targeted by India according to U.S. authorities, said Nijjar’s murder was “not the kind of publicity” the Sikh independence movement was seeking.