A Canadian man will spend decades behind bars after he was hired to assassinate a former suspect who was acquitted of the Air India airline bombing in 1985.
British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Terence Schultes sentenced Tanner Fox, 24, to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Sikh businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik,75. Fox pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, reported BBC.
On July 14, 2022, Fox, with an accomplice and co-defendant, Jose Lopez, drove to Malik’s business on 128th Street in Surrey, where they waited for the victim. Upon Malik’s arrival, both men approached the victim’s vehicle and fatally shot him seven times at close range before fleeing the scene in a Honda CRV. Then, the defendants burnt the CRV in a nearby laneway before switching to an Infinity vehicle to evade authorities.
However, investigators were able to track both Fox and Lopez to their residences, where they found a backpack with masks, gloves, and two firearms with magazines in it. DNA of both men was on the gloves and masks, and ballistic analysis matched firearms as the murder weapons used in the fatal incident.
Furthermore, authorities found $16,485 in cash at Lopez’s residence and both defendants' phones, which contained video footage of several $100 bills.
During the sentencing hearing, Fox apologized to Malik’s family but failed to disclose who hired him and financed the assassination despite several pleas from the victim’s family.
“I know nothing I say will bring him back. I’m sorry for the role I played in this crime. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel remorse for my actions. Three years ago, I was young, and I’ve grown to see the error of my ways,” said Fox, according to Vancouver Sun.
Malik and his co-defendant, Ajaib Singh Bagri, in 2005 were charged with murder in the 1985 Air India airline that was bombed off the Irish coast, killing all 329 people onboard the aircraft. A second bomb blast killed two baggage handlers in Japan. The fatal incident was considered Canada’s deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history. At the time, Malik, who was a supporter of the separatist Khalistan movement, was tried and acquitted of murder.
Lopez also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Fox will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.
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