Three of the four suspects—Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh—appeared in person for the first time in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey, with the fourth suspect appearing by video link.
Judge Emmet Duncan spoke to the men through an interpreter as he placed them under the no-contact order, before adjourning until the suspects’ next appearance on June 25.
Prosecutor Marcel Daigle said the time until the next hearing will allow the Crown to fulfil its evidentiary disclosure obligations to the suspects’ lawyers.
Attendees at the hearing were searched before entering the courthouse, while supporters of Mr. Nijjar and the Sikh separatist movement he championed rallied outside.
Mr. Nijjar was a key organizer for overseas voting on an independent Sikh state in India, and was gunned down in the parking lot of the Surrey temple where he was president in June 2023.
Sheriffs at the hearing placed peoples’ phones in plastic zipper bags and kept them outside the courtroom in plastic bins, with the judge warning observers that recording audio and taking pictures was prohibited.
Outside the courthouse, Sikhs gathered with signs and yellow flags emblazoned with Khalistan, the name of the homeland they’re seeking to establish.
B.C. Gurdwaras Council spokesman Moninder Singh said after the hearing that those gathered outside were showing support for the community, Mr. Nijjar’s family and the Khalistan movement.
“We won’t be silenced,” Mr. Singh said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for people right now is that we won’t give in to the fear and the violence that India is trying to incite.”