Turban ban causing a furore, third accused released

Johal was the former president of Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple on Ross Street and had said, in an exclusive interview to the Indian Express on Saturday morning before being arrested, that he considered the two arrested men to be innocent until proved guilty. Described as pro-separatist and an old friend of Ripudaman Singh Malik, Johal is also an influential member of the community. Their friendship had apparently run into troubled waters in the recent years after Johal became critical of Malik8217;s monopolistic claim over the success of community institutions. Johal was one of the co-founders of the Khalsa Credit Union and a board member of Satnam Trust, both headed by Malik. Despite the release Police is still calling him a suspect.

Constable Cate Galliford of RCMP said, quot;suspect number three has been released with charges.quot; She added that the police have received a number of tips following the initial arrest of friday and that they are anticipating further arrests.

Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, the two main suspects arrested on last Friday, entered the court premises with about 25 supporters including family members and friends. They included the three sons of Malik and the son of the late Babbar Khalsa leader Talwinder Parmar, Narinder Singh Parmar. Talwinder Parmar was the number one Air India suspect and was killed in a combat with Punjab Police in October 1992.

The proceedings began two hours later than scheduled when Malik made his appearance first, donning, what looked like a white plastic bag pulled down close around his face, instead of his turban. Malik was required to remove his turban as a security measure while being transferred from RCMP cells 8212; where he had been held since his arrest 8212; to Vancouver Provincial Court yesterday. A controversy erupted over the issue. Even moderate Sikhs were visibly peeved by the turban ban in the court. Some even said they would not co-operate with the investigation. International Sikh Youth Federation was outraged at the incident and said it was quot;sacrilegious to force a Sikh to remove his turban.quot; The Sikh spectators were required to hand over their kirpans 8211; ceremonial daggers 8212; before entering court.

A fiery exchange took place outside the courtroom between freelance journalist Sukhminder Singh Cheema and one of the sons of Malik when the latter ordered Cheema to stop taking photographs. Cheema was warned of consequences if he published the photograph. quot;Don8217;t publish that picture or we8217;ll fix you, quot; yelled one of the sons of Malik.

The accused were remanded in custody for 30 days, until their next court appearance on Nov. 30. In the meantime, a bail haring is due on Friday on the BC Supreme Court.

Malik8217;s lawyer, Terry La Liberte commented that there was no direct evidence against his client and that he would make a strong case before the Supreme Court on Friday for bail. He said Malik would plead not guilty to the charges. La Liberte alluded to the charges as a plot against Malik by some disgruntled employee and a few people who had business dealings with Malik. The quot;disgruntled employeequot; is believed to be a woman who was fired last year from Surrey8217;s Khalsa School, which Malik founded.

Meanwhile, a spokespersonof the ministry of education said government officials would meet today with members of the board of directors at Surrey8217;s Khalsa School today to find out what the board has decided to do about Malik8217;s status as president. However, she dismissed the possibility of a reassessment of the 3million funding to the school in the wake of the event.

Yet another suspect is reported to have escaped to India hours before the arrest, while Malik himself was planning to make an quot;occasional visitquot; to India when the arrests took place.