Kash Heed made the comments during an interview with CTV News on Saturday while discussing the challenges he believes investigators will face in finding Malik’s killer — or killers. Malik was murdered on Thursday morning outside his business in Surrey. Homicide investigators said a white Honda CRV pulled up more than two hours earlier and that the occupants were waiting for Malik. The vehicle was later found burnt out in an alley nearby. “These are the hallmarks of a hit person or hit people, doing this type of work and it’s quite common,” Kash Heed said, noting the similarities to other shootings that have occurred in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, some linked to ongoing gang. conflict. “It’s going to be a difficult investigation and the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies are really going to have to step up their game and try to find a confidential informant,” said Hind, adding that he believes police should find ways to ensure the safety of anyone assisting in the investigation. “There are people who will find out what happened to Mr. Malik a few days ago in Surrey, BC,” Heed said. “But they’re not going to come forward if, in fact, they fear for their safety.” Malik is known to most as one of the two men acquitted of the Air India bombings in 1985. But the 75-year-old has a long history in both Surrey’s business and Sikh communities. Freelance journalist Gurpreet Singh has been writing about Malik and the bombings for more than 20 years. He was 15 when what is often described as the worst mass killing in Canadian history happened and was living in India at the time. Singh is now based in Delta, BC, and said he first started writing about Malik in 2000, when he was first arrested in the Air India case. Since then she has done many interviews with him. “From my perspective he was very approachable, very social,” Singh said, adding that the last time the two men spoke was just last month to discuss Malik’s plan to bring a separatist Sikh group to B.C. Singh said that Malik was trying to obtain the rights to publish Sikh scriptures in Greater Vancouver, which angered many religious groups. “This tour was canceled because of the backlash it got from the Sikh community,” Singh said. “Malik was very upset about it, he admitted it during my conversation with him, but he never showed any signs of receiving threats on his life.” That sentiment was echoed by Malik’s family members, who said he had no concerns for his safety before the fatal shooting. Also this year, Singh said Malik had caused “outrage” among some members of the Sikh community for his public praise of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose controversial farm laws sparked massive, months-long protests by Punjabi farmers and their supporters. “Close to the Punjabi elections earlier this year, he (Malik) is writing a letter to Mr Modi, a letter of support,” Singh said. “People were offended because shortly after the farmer’s protest, everyone was offended.” Homicide investigators said they believe Malik was targeted, but that a motive for the shooting is unclear, urging the public not to speculate on the matter. The killing drew mixed reactions from the community, with many mourning Malik as the co-founder of Khalsa School and Khalsa Credit Union. At the scene of the shooting, some who knew him were visibly shaken as police swarmed the complex. Others who still suspect Malik was involved in the Air India attack had more complicated feelings as they continue to search for responsibility for the bombing.
