UPDATE: BC police say 3 men charged in killing of Sikh activist Nijjar

(UPDATE: May 3 at 12:55 pm): Three men have been arrested and charged with the murder of BC Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Supt. Mandeep Mooker says Karan Brar, Karanpreet Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, all men in their 20s, were arrested today in Edmonton.

Mooker says all three are Indian nationals and have been living as non−permanent residents in Canada for the last three to five years.

The men are expected to be transported to BC by Monday to face charges of first−degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner David Teboul says in addition to the murder case, there are separate investigations looking into possible connections to the Government of India.

Nijjar was shot and killed last June as he left the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons in September that there was credible intelligence linking the killing to the Indian government, touching off a diplomatic row that resulted in India suspending the issuing of visas to Canadians for two months.

(Original story: May 3 at 10:54 am): Homicide police in British Columbia say they will be providing a "significant update" on the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, amid reports that arrests have been made in the case.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he has been informed about the update by the RCMP in the case that triggered allegations by Ottawa of Indian government involvement in the killing last year.

He says the case "likely and very clearly will end up before criminal courts."

The CBC has reported that alleged members of a hit squad were arrested and that investigators are looking into possible links with three other killings.

Nijjar, who had campaigned for a separate Sikh homeland in India, was gunned down in his vehicle outside his gurdwara in Surrey, BC, last June.

He was the temple president at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons in September that there was credible intelligence linking the killing to the Indian government, touching off a diplomatic row that resulted in India suspending the issuing of visas to Canadians for two months.

India has repeatedly denied involvement in Nijjar’s death.

Members of the Sikh community in Canada have accused the Indian government of being behind the murder and attempting to silence voices advocating for Sikh separation, but police have previously denied having any evidence of that.

Homicide investigators have said they were looking for at least three suspects in Nijjar’s killing. Two suspects ran from the scene of the shooting on foot, while a third was in a getaway car a few blocks away from the temple.