23 Facts About Jaspal Atwal

1.

Jaspal Singh Atwal was born on 1955 and is an Indo-Canadian businessman convicted of attempted murder for his role in the 1986 attempt to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu.

2.

In February 2018, Atwal gained national attention when he was invited by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to a reception during a visit to India and would eventually have his invitation revoked the next day.

3.

Jaspal Atwal was originally from Pharala near Phagwara district in Punjab, India.

4.

Jaspal Atwal left for Canada at a young age and claimed to study at British Columbia Institute of Technology.

5.

Jaspal Atwal visited India once in the past few years, with a Facebook post of him visiting the Taj Mahal.

6.

Jaspal Atwal is involved in construction business and is currently associated with Media Wave Communications, which runs a Surrey-based online radio station.

7.

Jaspal Atwal was involved in numerous liberal campaigns and was seen taking pictures with hockey star Wayne Gretzky and other liberal politicians such as Sukh Dhaliwal, Justin Trudeau, and Michael Ignatieff.

8.

In 1985, Jaspal Atwal was charged in an attack on Ujjal Dosanjh, a strong opposer of the Khalistan movement, but was later acquitted.

9.

Dosanjh stated that Jaspal Atwal attacked him with an iron bar over his opposition to Sikh extremism.

10.

On 25 May 1986, Jaspal Atwal was among four men involved in attempting to assassinate Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu.

11.

Jaspal Atwal was convicted for murder and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, where he served 5 years before being paroled.

12.

At the parole, Jaspal Atwal admitted he was the shooter that day.

13.

Jaspal Atwal sparked controversy when he was invited by Justin Trudeau to a reception during a visit to India.

14.

Jaspal Atwal was seen photographed with Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi at an event in Mumbai and was invited to the event by Randeep Sarai.

15.

Jaspal Atwal's invitation was rescinded the next day and Trudeau stated that he should have never been invited.

16.

Jaspal Atwal was removed from India's travel blacklist several months ago, while the Indian government stated that he wasn't a security threat.

17.

Jaspal Atwal stated that he has a "friendly relationship" with Trudeau and that he "stayed away" from him to avoid embarrassment.

18.

On 25 April 2018, Jaspal Atwal was arrested at his home and charged for making threats to a local British Columbia host.

19.

In 2012, Jaspal Atwal was invited to a budget speech of 35th Premier of British Columbia Christy Clark as a guest.

20.

Clark insisted that she didn't know who Jaspal Atwal was, even though he was invited to her budget speech and shook her hand.

21.

Jaspal Atwal was a member of the Surrey Fleetwood-Port Kells Liberal riding association of the Federal Liberal Party.

22.

Jaspal Atwal is a long-time supporter of the Liberal Party and a former donor to the federal gifts with deep ties to the party that pre-date Trudeau's tenure as prime minister.

23.

Jaspal Atwal was seen taking pictures with former liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and interim leader Bob Rae.