Publication date: Jul 15, 2022 • 59 min ago • 4 min read • Join the discussion Multiple police agencies are investigating the shooting death of Ripudaman Singh Malik at 8236 128th Street in Surrey, BC on the morning of Thursday July 14, 2022. Malik, a prominent Surrey businessman , was acquitted in 2015 of the Air India bombing, which killed hundreds of people in 1985. Pictured is an unidentified woman, wearing an ID badge, at the crime scene. (Photo by Jason Payne/ PNG) Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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It was business as usual on Friday at the Surrey office where Ripudaman Singh Malik was shot to death a day earlier.

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Several workers unloaded stacks of boxes from a red shipping container outside the front door of Papillon Eastern Imports, which Malik founded as a Gastown store in the early 1970s. The police tape that marked the crime scene at 8236 128th St. disappeared. And there was no sign of where a shooter, or shooters, opened fire on the 75-year-old at 9:27 a.m. Thursday as he sat in the driver’s seat of his Tesla. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released the haunting video Friday of a white Honda CRV driving through the parking lot of the complex where Papillon is based about 80 minutes before the shooting. There seems to be more than one person inside. IHIT is asking any witnesses or anyone traveling in the 8200 block of 128 Street, Surrey and in the area of ​​122 Street and 82 Avenue between 7:00 A.M. of Ripudaman Singh Malik is requested to contact IHIT. Photo by Castillo, Erin /jpg IHIT Sgt. David Lee said the CRV, which was later found burning at 122A Street and 82nd Avenue, is linked to Malik’s targeted killing.

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“A review of the CCTV showed that this CRV arrived at 8236 128th St. shortly before the shooting and was waiting for Mr. Malik,” Lee said. Anyone in the vicinity who saw anything or caught dash-cam video between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. is asked to contact investigators, he said. Malik was once an Air India bombing suspect linked to the Sikh separatist movement. He was acquitted of murder and conspiracy charges in March 2005. Ripudaman Singh Malik (centre) leaves the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver, BC. with his supporters after being found not guilty of the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, Wednesday March 16, 2005. Photo by RICHARD LAM /The Canadian Press The divisive figure was also the founder of the Khalsa Credit Union and the Satnam Educational Society, which runs several independent schools and receives funding from the BC government. Malik used the school’s letterhead to write to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January, offering his support and thanking Modi for trying to address outstanding issues related to the treatment of Sikhs.

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Some criticized Malik for the letter, in which he also expressed his support for a united India in contrast to his earlier separatist position. Police have yet to determine a motive in the case, and Lee urged the public not to jump to conclusions, saying IHIT has “a number of investigative avenues available to us.” “We understand that this is a high-profile international story. However, we urge (people) not to speculate as to the motive as our homicide investigators will follow up on the evidence,” Lee said. “These are complicated cases and I cannot say specifically how long it might take. It could be two weeks, two months or two years. We cannot say why the investigation is ongoing at this time.” Postmedia has spoken to more than a dozen people who know Malik or worked on the investigation into the June 23, 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people. No one believed Malik’s murder, which everyone described as shocking, had anything to do with the terror plot 37 years ago.

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Police investigate the murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik on July 14, 2022. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG Retired Maundy Doug Best, the lead investigator of the evidence against Malik in the Air India bombing, said on Friday that “this shocking news brought back a flood of memories”. “Malik was a high-profile member of the Sikh community. While he had supporters, he had enemies. I can’t speculate on the motives behind his murder.” Malik’s eldest son, Jaspreet, told reporters outside the family’s $6.8 million South Surrey home on Friday that his father had no security concerns and was focused on his business and volunteering. work he did for his community. “My dad never told us anything about someone threatening him or anything like that.” Jaspreet Malik was working at his law office when his wife called him with the news on Thursday.

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“Yesterday was very surreal. I mean, it’s very difficult to put into words,” said Jaspreet Malik. “It seemed like a dream all day, unbelievable. You can’t even imagine something like this ever happening in your life – you know, a family member getting shot. Especially since your father was shot.” Malik’s son Jaspreet Malik spoke to reporters about his father’s murder on July 14, 2022 in Surrey. (Photo: Francis Georgian / Postmedia) Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG He doubts the killing had anything to do with his father’s letter to Modi or the Air India case. “I don’t believe it’s true. I think this must have some other cause or motive or something. I mean, I don’t know what that would be,” Jaspreet said. But he believes the police will pull it off. “I have confidence in the RCMP. I have faith – they will figure out who did this.” For now, he wants his father to be remembered for his love for his family – five children and eight grandchildren – and for his sewa (service) to his community. “I think the important thing for people to understand about my dad is (that) he dedicated his life to sewa,” he said. “He’s dedicated his life since the seventies to giving back.” [email protected] Twitter.com/kbolan

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