Ripudaman Singh Malik wasn't worried about safety prior to fatal shooting, family says
There were no indications Ripudaman Singh Malik was concerned for his personal safety leading up to his death on Thursday, according to his grieving family.
Jaspreet Malik, the eldest of the deceased's five children, spoke to reporters outside a family home in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, and said they had no reason to believe their 75-year-old father was in danger before he was gunned down in broad daylight.
"Dad never said anything to us about anybody threatening him or anything like that," he said, describing the sudden loss of their father as a total shock.
"You can't even imagine something like that happening in your life – a family member getting shot, let alone your dad getting shot."
Ripudaman Singh Malik, one of the two men acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings, was killed while arriving at one of his businesses on 128 Street. Homicide investigators said a white Honda CRV pulled up more than two hours earlier, and that the occupants waited for Malik at the building.
The Air India trial left a cloud of suspicion and gossip around Malik, and his expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought fresh controversy in recent years, but his family does not believe he was targeted because of his past or politics.
Jaspreet Malik said he can't fathom his father's 2005 acquittal could have led to Thursday's shooting. The family has always maintained he was falsely accused.
"This must have some other cause or motive," he said. "I don't know what that would be, I just can't see the two things being related. I can't imagine hating someone for 17 years. I just can't imagine."
The Air India Victims’ Families Association said some members remained suspicious of Ripudaman Singh Malik up until his death, pointing to flaws in the investigation into the bombings, and issues at trial.
Only one man – bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat – was convicted in connection with the attack. He was later found guilty of perjury as well, for repeatedly lying on the stand during the trial of Malik and his co-accused, Ajaib Singh Bagri.
To many in the community, the deceased will be remembered as founder of the Khalsa School – the largest private school in British Columbia – and the Khalsa Credit Union. That is his true legacy, according to his family, not the fact that he faced trial in the deadliest mass murder in Canadian history.
While Jaspreet Malik was highly critical of the RCMP's investigation into the bombings, he stressed that he has "absolute faith" in the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team’s ability to bring his father's killer to justice.
"The people doing this investigation, I have full faith they're properly trained, they know what they're doing. They'll find whoever did this," he said, adding that anyone with information on the shooting has a moral obligation to come forward.
"Do the right thing," he said. "I feel like I'm sounding like a mom talking to a toddler, because people should know right from wrong. If you saw something, you know something, you heard something, you have a duty to share that with police."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.