Gangster Goldy Brar allegedly claims in leaked audio that he killed Hardeep Nijjar

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar allegedly claimed in a leaked audio recording that he was behind the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada in June 2023, an assassination that triggered a diplomatic row between India and Canada.

Brar, wanted in India in connection with several killings including that of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, made the claim while speaking to Paramjit Singh Pamma, another Khalistani separatist. In the recording now circulating on social media, Brar allegedly said Nijjar was targeted over his role in encouraging drug-related activities among young people.

"That's why we, my team and I, had to kill Nijjar, because these people were using young people to sell drugs. Everyone has to face the consequences of their actions," Brar allegedly told Pamma. The authenticity of the audio has not been established yet.

Brar claimed the men who killed his brothers lived in Nijjar's homes. Brar allegedly said he held fire inside the gurdwara out of respect for it and waited for the group to come out of the gate. He thought gangster Arsh Dala was also in the car, and later called his escape a mistake, the report said.

Nijjar was killed on the evening of June 18, 2023, outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey. Attackers surrounded his pickup truck as it left the parking lot and fired about 50 rounds, of which 34 hit him, Dainik Bhaskar reported. A sedan blocked the truck, two masked shooters fired through the driver's window, and the attackers fled in a waiting silver car, the report said. Canadian investigators later released a photo of a silver 2008 Toyota Camry at the intersection of 128 Street and 72 Avenue, saying the attackers had fled in it.

Weeks after the killing, then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents may have been involved in Nijjar's assassination. New Delhi rejected the charge as absurd and politically motivated.

While in Canada, Nijjar had become close to Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, head of the banned Sikhs for Justice organisation, Dainik Bhaskar reported.

In the recording, Brar allegedly made several other claims. He said he had targeted people involved in sacrilege incidents even before Moosewala's killing, and that two earlier attempts had failed, Bhaskar reported. He also said he could name people in Pakistan on whose guarantee Nijjar arranged weapons for Arsh Dala.

(With inputs from PTI)