Ambush, barrage of bullets: CCTV footage captures final moments of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Nijjar

Khalistani separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was ambushed and his car was blocked by a white sedan minutes before killers sprayed multiple bullets at him at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in British Columbia (BC), Canada in June last year. 

The CCTV recording of the parking lot shows how Nijjar's car was blocked by a white sedan at the exit gate. As soon as Nijjar's pickup vehicle idled behind the white car, two people appeared in the CCTV footage firing their guns aimed at Nijjar's vehicle, ‘The Globe and Mail’ said in its report after viewing the CCTV recording.

According to ‘The Globe and Mail’ report, “the ambush began in a parking lot of a Surrey, B.C., temple with a barrage of bullets, after which the two gunmen fled down a side street on foot.”

Nijjar's killing recorded on CCTV

In the wide-angle view of the parking lot captured in the CCTV camera, Nijjar can be seen coming out of his parking space in a dark-coloured pickup truck, reported the Canadian media firm.

In the two minutes-long footage of the murder, a white vehicle can be seen moving close to Nijjar's pickup truck. As the white sedan reaches the parking lot exit first, it pauses for a minute, instead of exiting the lot. After the stationary sedan blocked Nijjar's pickup van, ‘two people emerged from a structure on the left of the screen’, said The Globe and Mail in its report. Within seconds they fired their guns against Nijjar while continuing to advance on the pickup.

The 12-second-long firing left Nijjar lifeless inside his vehicle. The assassins of Nijjar were constantly tracking him before his murder and constructed their murder plan after watching him ahead of time and predicting his behaviour, said the report referring to community members.

Assassins wore black masks, medical gloves, used handguns for murder

After the murder, the two assassins were also chased by community people. One of the two men was heavy-set while the other was slim. The two were wearing black masks and black hoodies. Moreover, they were wearing blue nitrile medical gloves, Malkeet, a board member at the gurudwara in Canada, told the The Globe and Mail, while recounting his encounter with the assassins. 

Later, one of the men took out his gun and brandished it to frighten the people chasing them. According to Malkeet, the man had used a handgun. The incident had a significant impact on the India-Canada relations after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused India of being behind Nijjar's killing. The allegations received a strong response from the Indian government which denied any links with Nijjar's killing.