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British man admits at Vancouver immigration hearing he once led Babbar Khalsa
VANCOUVER – A British man facing deportation from Canada has admitted at an immigration hearing that he once led the banned Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa in England.
Gurmej Singh Gill testified at the hearing in Vancouver that he was one of five founding members of Babbar Khalsa in the United Kingdom, and that he led the group for a period of time in the 1980s.
Gill, who is in his early 70s, says the group sought a separate homeland in India for Sikhs, and his role as leader was to highlight the cause through legal means.
Babbar Khalsa has been linked to the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people on two flights that originated in Vancouver.
The group was added to a list of banned terror groups in Canada in 2003, and Canada Border Services Agency wants Gill removed from Canada.
He was stopped by border agents last November when he arrived at Vancouver airport, and ordered to appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board.
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