Mounties warn son of man acquitted in Air India bombing that his life may be in danger

The son of a man who was accused in the Air India bombing of 1985 has been officially warned by the RCMP that his life could be under threat, CBC News has learned.

Hardeep Malik, a businessman in Surrey, B.C., is the son of Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to a pair of bombings in 1985 that killed 331 people.

Singh Malik was gunned down outside his office in Surrey on July 14, 2022. Two men have since been charged in his murder.

CBC News has learned RCMP investigators have been probing whether the government of India was behind the killing of the wealthy and controversial businessman. They believe India's government was involved in last year's targeted killing of prominent Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Singh Malik's widow and several other family members were travelling in France last week when the RCMP delivered a letter to Hardeep Malik warning him that his life could be in danger from a criminal conspiracy.

The RCMP issues «Duty to Warn» letters under a B.C. law that directs authorities to notify people when they become aware of a threat to their safety. The legislation that governs such notifications says the danger «must be a risk that is likely to happen.»

Several people associated with the Sikh separatist movement in British Columbia have received such notices. Nijjar got one before he was killed in June 2023.

The reported threat against Hardeep Malik could support the theory that the Indian government's alleged campaign of assassination in Canada did not begin with Nijjar's killing on June 18, 2023.

CBC News has seen evidence that suggests an Indian diplomat was in close contact with Ripudaman Singh Malik by phone and text in the hours leading up to