Associate of slain B.C. Sikh leader says he was also warned of threat to his life

Gurmeet Singh Toor sits on the executive committee of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara where Hardeep Singh Nijjar served as president before his death.

A close associate of the B.C. Sikh leader who was gunned down outside a Surrey gurdwara this summer says he, too, was warned about threats against his life.

Gurmeet Singh Toor sits on the executive committee of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara where Hardeep Singh Nijjar served as president before his death.

Through an interpreter Thursday, he told Global News that police and the RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team came to his home late at night on Aug. 24, and warned him about a potential threat.

“He and the family was made aware … that there was a threat to his life, he was given a duty to warn,” the interpreter said.

“When he asked what was the reason and who was behind the threat, the police and INSET were unable to offer that information.”

Like Nijjar, Toor is a strong advocate for Khalilstan, an independent Sikh state in the Indian subcontinent, and was working on a referendum promoting the idea.

He told Global News he is one of three people in the Sikh community to receive the warnings from the RCMP.

The notice delivered to Toor reads, “the police have determined by way of one or more investigative avenues that your life may be in peril.”