Malkiad Singh Sidhu was the former Planning Minister of Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He was a member of the Akali Dal political party. In 1986, he was named Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

.

On May 25, 1986, he was ambushed by four Canadian Sikhs

Sikhism in Canada

Canadian Sikhs are the largest religious group among Indo-Canadians. According to the 2001 census there are 278,410 Sikhs in Canada. However, in 2004 the true number was revealed to be closer to 400,000....

 who learned he was visiting the country on a private matter, and shot. Although he survived the assassination attempt, he was killed five years later at his home in India.

Canadian ambush

Sidhu entered Canada to attend his nephew's wedding; although his entrance was not noted by Canadian authorities, Sikh extremists learned of the trip through "the efficiency of the Sikh intelligence network". It was later determined that "clear information on the pending attempt on his life" had been given to Canadian authorities two days prior, but since the attack occurred over a weekend, the information was not passed on to its necessary agency until the following Monday.

While driving on an isolated gravel road near Gold River

Gold River, British Columbia

Gold River is a village located close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. In terms of the Island's human geography it is considered to be part of the "North Island", even though it technically is on the Island's west coast....

 on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 with three other people, Sidhu's car was forced to stop when another vehicle stopped in front of them. The occupants exited their vehicle and began smashing Sidhu's car with hammers, firing five .32-calibre bullets into the car, striking Sidhu in the arm and chest. Sidhu feigned death, and the men ran back to their vehicle.

Shortly afterward, Jasbir Singh Atwal, Jaspal Singh Atwal, Armajit Singh Dhindsa and Sukhdial Singh Gill were arrested at a police roadblock

Roadblock

A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:*Roadworks*Temporary road closure during special events*Police chase*Robbery*Sobriety checkpoint...

. In February 1987, all four men were convicted and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.

In September 1987, their cases were overturned when Michael Code, the same lawyer who had successfully defended the Sikhs falsely accused of plotting to destroy Air India Flight 112

Air India Flight 112

In May 1986, five Canadian Sikhs were charged with plotting to blow up Air India Flight 112 in New York City. Ostensibly members of Babbar Khalsa, two were convicted and given life sentences, while three others were released...

 the year before, showed that the wiretap evidence against the four attackers had been obtained on a fraudulent warrant by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...

 (CSIS), who had provided a judge with faulty evidence from a source known to be untrustworthy. CSIS director Ted Finn

Ted Finn

Thomas D'Arcy "Ted" Finn was the first director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service , serving from 1984 until 1987. He "resigned in disgrace" after it was revealed that CSIS had filed an "inaccurate and misleading" affidavit to acquire a warrant for a wiretap.Born in Ottawa, he received...

 resigned shortly after it was revealed that the CSIS affidavits were riddled with errors. However a government appeal upheld their convictions and sentences in June 1990.

Murder

Sidhu was one of five Indian politicians running for office who were killed in 1991, gunned down along with his bodyguard by militants on April 27 while driving from his house in Moga

Moga, Punjab

Moga is a city and a municipality in Moga district in the Indian state of Punjab.It became part and headquarter of 17th District in the state, Moga district of Punjab State on 24th day of November 1995, by then Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar. Before this, Moga was a part of Faridkot District...

to visit a friend.