Two plead guilty to murder of former Air India suspect Ripudaman Singh Mali

NEW WESTMINSTER, British Columbia (AP) — Two men accused of killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Canadian court.

The courthouse in New Westminster, British Columbia, confirmed the pleas on Monday from Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez in the shooting death of Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 of the bombings that killed 331 people in 1985.

Fox and Lopez, who were originally charged with first-degree murder, will next appear in court on Oct. 31 for sentencing.

In a statement, Malik’s family said while the family is “grateful” that Fox and Lopez were brought to justice, they are urging the two men to cooperate with police “in bringing those that hired you to justice.”

Malik, 75, was shot dead in his vehicle outside his business in Surrey, British Columbia, on July 14, 2022. He was a one-time supporter of the separatist Khalistan movement in India.

Malik and a co-defendant were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy in the 1985 Air India bombings. A high-altitude bombing of one plane caused it to crash in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew. The terror attack was the worst act of mass murder in Canadian history.

Roughly one hour later, a bomb destined for another Air India plane exploded prematurely at an airport in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.

Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only man convicted in the bombings, testified for the prosecution at Malik and Bagri’s trial and was later convicted of perjury. The alleged suspects in the bombings were Sikhs in the Khalistan movement, an effort to create a separate homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab state.

Police said before charging Fox and Lopez that people waited