Less than a week before she died, a woman stabbed in a small southwestern Ontario town had spoken to CBC about the threats she was facing for speaking out about Khalistan extremism.
Nancy Grewal, 45, was identified by police as the victim in a stabbing outside a home on Todd Lane in LaSalle, Ont., on Tuesday.
She was at the home working as a personal support worker.
On Feb. 25, she spoke with a CBC journalist about extremism within the Sikh separatist movement.
“I know sometimes I feel scared when they said ‘[we’ll] kill you’ then I said ‘OK, you can kill me anytime,’” she said in the interview.
The Khalistani movement calls for a Sikh homeland in India. Not all separatists support violence. However, factions of the movement have been involved in violent incidents.
The movement was started around 1940, when a secessionist group sought to create an independent country called Khalistan in the Sikh-dominated state of Punjab. Extremists have been linked to deadly attacks over the decades, including the 1985 Air India bombing.
Sikh politics alleged as motive for fatal stabbing in LaSalle
Grewal, a Sikh social media influencer who was a strong critic of Khalistan extremism, said she had been harassed and threatened for speaking about violence in the movement.
LaSalle police, which are investigating Grewal’s death, have said her killing is believed to be targeted.
They haven’t commented on what they believe is the motive in the stabbing. Const. Alaina Atkins said on Friday that an OPP canine unit helped in the early stages of the investigation.
The RCMP says they have not been called in to assist.
In the interview Grewal gave the week before she was killed, she said men started a fire on the front deck of her Windsor, Ont., home one early morning in November.
“I don’t feel safe here,” she said. “The guys attack on my house.”
Video from a home security camera Grewal shared with CBC showed a man in a hooded sweater approaching the front deck of her home and dumping liquid from a red gas can across the surface before lighting it.
The fire quickly spread down the length of the deck while the man ran toward the road across the front lawn. However, it quickly went down because of wet weather and the paint on the deck, Grewal said.
A burned chair and some damage from the fire remained visible on Grewal’s porch when CBC spoke with her.
Grewal said she had received 40 death threats, and said she had reported those threats to Windsor police.
Windsor police, to whom Grewal said she reported the November fire and the death threats, on Thursday referred all comment to LaSalle police and did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
CBC tried to confirm reports of an arson attack and death threats with Windsor police multiple times before Grewal’s death but did not receive a response.
Grewal had been critical online of the abundant Khalistani signage at the Gurdwara Khalsa Parkash in Windsor, saying images of martyrs and weapons that adorned the walls were counter to the need for a peaceful prayer space. She said she worried about the impact on the gurdwara’s children.
“When we [are] going in the gurdwara, we need a peace and prayer. But everywhere you look at the gurdwara … all pictures with the AK-47s, guns.”
Images at Gurdwara Khalsa Parkash include martyrs flanked by guns and Khalistan flags.
Asked about the images in an interview prior to Grewal’s death, the president of the Windsor gurdwara defended the Khalistani signs and imagery.
“It is nothing to be afraid of,” he said. “It’s open to everybody, regardless of your colour, creed or religion. The same thing is for Khalistan.”
Grewal’s sister Alisha was reached in India late on Friday and said she and her sister used to talk often by video call.
“I can never think [of] my life without her, never ever,” Alisha said. She urged a full investigation and “action” on her sister’s death.
In a press conference from India, Shinderpal Kaur, Grewal’s mother, says she was aware her daughter had received threats and had at times urged her not to post on social media.
“I am grateful, she had so many people who loved her all over the world. She was so blessed to have so many people who loved her and the best thing was she never lied.
The president of the Gurdwara Khalsa Parkash in Windsor told CBC the community is in mourning over Grewal’s death — but expressed skepticism over social media accounts claiming responsibility for her murder.
Manjinder Singh Kooner said he’d known Grewal for the last four or five years, and the community is in shock.
“Pointing a finger at somebody I think it’s too early, over there, like anybody can claim, right?” Kooner said.
Kooner said he was not aware of threats made against Grewal, and does not believe there is a Khalistan extremist movement in Windsor.
“I deal with the whole community, right? Not that I know of, no,” Kooner said.
“Violence is not [the] answer to anything. And Sikhs don’t believe in violence.”
On Friday, people present at the home where Grewal was killed declined to comment. A person was cleaning the steps at the front of the home.
