Guilty pleas over killing of man acquitted in 1985 Air India bombings

Ripudaman Singh Malik (centre) as he left a Vancouver court following his acquittal in 2005

Two hitmen have pleaded guilty in a Canadian court over the shooting of a man acquitted of the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight.

Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Sikh businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik in 2022.

They entered their pleas in British Columbia Supreme Court on the eve of their trial for first-degree murder.

In a shocking development, a ferocious fist fight then broke out between Fox and Lopez in the courtroom in New Westminster.

According to the Vancouver Sun, they "punched and clawed at each other" for a couple of minutes before sheriffs broke up the brawl, forcing them to the ground, applying handcuffs and leading them away.

Other sheriffs cleared the public gallery.

The case is due to return to court on 31 October for a sentencing hearing. The second-degree murder pleas mean they will automatically receive life sentences with the only question being how long they have to serve before they can apply for parole, Canadian public broadcaster CBC reports.

Malik was shot several times in his car outside his family business in Surrey, British Columbia, on the morning of 14 July 2022. Police found a burnt-out vehicle nearby.

The businessman had been acquitted in 2005 of a devastating double bomb attack:

• On 23 June 1985, Air India flight 182 from Canada to India blew up off the Irish coast, killing all 329 people on board, most of them Canadian citizens visiting relatives in India

• About the same time, a second bomb exploded prematurely in Japan, killing two baggage handlers

The bombings - widely believed to have been carried out by Canadian-based Sikhs in retaliation for India's deadly 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion - remain Canada's deadliest terror attack.

Following a two-year trial, Malik and his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri, were both acquitted of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to the two bombings.

According to the agreed statement of facts on Monday, Fox and Lopez were contracted to kill Malik but the evidence did not establish who had hired them.

Police recovered two handguns used in the attack in residences linked to the two men as well as the sum of C$16,485 (US $11,943; £9,148) in cash in Lopez's New Westminster apartment, the Vancouver Sun reports.

Malik’s family issued a statement urging them to co-operate with police to bring to justice whoever had directed the killing.

“Until the parties responsible for hiring them and directing this assassination are brought to justice, the work remains incomplete,” the family said.

When contacted by the BBC, Fox's lawyer declined to comment on the case.

Lawyers for Lopez said he had a "long road ahead of him", adding: "We are hopeful for his prospects of rehabilitation given his youth and his remorse, as shown by his decision to accept responsibility today."