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Canada: Youth sentenced to life for murder of Air India Kanishka bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

British Columbia Supreme Court rules that 24-year-old Tanner Fox, convicted of second-degree murder, will not be eligible for parole for 20 years

Reported by:  PTC News Desk  Edited by:  Jasleen Kaur -- January 29th 2025 12:12 PM
Canada: Youth sentenced to life for murder of Air India Kanishka bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

Canada: Youth sentenced to life for murder of Air India Kanishka bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik

PTC Web Desk: A British Columbia court has sentenced 24-year-old Tanner Fox to life in prison for his role in the 2022 assassination of Ripudaman Singh Malik, a businessman with a controversial past linked to the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing case. The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that Fox, convicted of second-degree murder, would not be eligible for parole for 20 years.

The sentencing was delivered by Justice Terence Schultes in New Westminster on Tuesday. In a prepared statement, Fox expressed remorse, saying, “I know nothing I say will bring him back. I’m sorry for the role I played in this crime.” However, he did not disclose details about who hired him for the hit. His alleged accomplice, Jose Lopez, awaits sentencing.


According to the prosecution, Fox and Lopez ambushed Ripudaman Singh Malik on July 14, 2022, shooting him multiple times while he sat inside his vehicle in the parking lot of his business in Surrey, British Columbia. Prosecutors described the killing as “a planned and deliberate execution” carried out for financial compensation.

During the court proceedings, Malik’s daughter-in-law, Sundeep Kaur Dhaliwal, pleaded with Fox to reveal the names of those who orchestrated the assassination, emphasising that it was “the right thing to do.”

Ripudaman Singh Malik gained international attention as one of the accused in the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing, an act of terrorism by pro-Khalistani extremists that resulted in 329 deaths—the worst terror attack in Canada’s history. He was acquitted in 2005 due to a lack of evidence, along with co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri. Only Inderjit Singh Reyat, the bombmaker, was convicted and served a reduced sentence, being released in 2016.

In early 2022, Malik publicly disassociated himself from the Khalistan movement and penned a letter appreciating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His political shift allegedly put him at odds with pro-Khalistani groups, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh leader who was assassinated in the same town on June 18, 2023.

Malik had also been removed from India’s blacklist and was permitted to visit the country in 2022, a move that fueled speculation about his evolving political stance. His murder, just months later, raised suspicions about whether internal Khalistani conflicts or larger geopolitical tensions played a role in his assassination.

The separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has accused India of orchestrating Malik’s killing, as well as Nijjar’s assassination a year later. These allegations align with claims made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials, who have suggested Indian involvement in Nijjar’s murder.

While no official link has been established between India and Malik’s assassination, the case continues to stir tensions between India and Canada. With Fox sentenced and Lopez yet to face his verdict, the identity of those who ordered Malik’s murder remains a mystery. 

- With inputs from agencies

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