In a significant development connected to one of Canada’s most notorious terrorist incidents, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced Tanner Fox, 24, to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 20 years. Fox was convicted of the 2022 murder of Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Sikh businessman previously acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing case.
The sentencing took place on Tuesday, as reported by CBC News, marking the culmination of a high-profile legal saga that has spanned decades. Malik, who had been acquitted alongside co-defendant Ajaib Singh Bagri in 2005 of charges related to the catastrophic Air India Flight 182 bombing, was fatally shot on July 15, 2022, while seated in his vehicle in Surrey, British Columbia.
Authorities swiftly apprehended Fox from Abbotsford, approximately 75 kilometers east of Vancouver, along with his accomplice, Jose Lopez, from the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, just two weeks following the homicide. Both men entered guilty pleas in October last year for second-degree murder, with Lopez slated to receive his sentencing on the upcoming Friday.
Global News highlighted that prosecutors have asserted Fox and Lopez were hired and compensated to carry out Malik’s killing. However, the identities of those who orchestrated the hit remain undisclosed, prompting intense scrutiny and demands for transparency. Malik’s family has been vocal in urging Fox and Lopez to disclose their employers, seeking closure and justice beyond their sentencing.
Jaspreet Singh Malik, the son of the deceased businessman, expressed his family’s anguish and determination for further revelations. “I’m asking both Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez to do the right thing,” Malik was quoted saying. “Tell the RCMP who hired you. Let those people be brought to justice. We hope and pray that the RCMP continue this work and search down and find and bring to justice those people who hired Mr. Fox and Mr. Lopez.”
The tragic Air India Flight 182 bombing, which resulted in the loss of all 329 souls aboard, remains one of the deadliest terrorist acts in Canadian history. The plane, en route from Canada to India, was destroyed by a suitcase bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, with another device intended for a flight from Japan detonating prematurely at Tokyo’s Narita airport, claiming two additional lives.
Ripudaman Singh Malik’s previous involvement in the Air India case had already cast a long shadow over his legacy. His acquittal in 2005 left lingering questions about the true masterminds behind the bombing, a mystery that now seems further entangled with his unsolved murder.
As the community grapples with the closure of Malik’s life and the unresolved threads of the Air India tragedy, authorities continue their investigation into the broader network that may have orchestrated these violent acts. The plea agreements of Fox and Lopez are expected to shed more light on the dark intersections of past and present criminal activities as the legal proceedings move forward.
The case underscores the enduring impact of terrorism on Canadian society and the relentless pursuit of justice by both law enforcement and the victims’ families. As Lopez awaits his sentencing, the quest for answers regarding the masterminds behind both the 1985 bombing and the recent murder persists, holding the community and the nation in a vigil for the truth.
