Who wanted Nancy Grewal silenced? Punjabi-Canadian YouTuber spoke against Khalistan, Radha Soami Beas chief

JALANDHAR/BATHINDA: Nancy Grewal , a 45-year-old social media influencer and YouTuber of Punjabi origin, was stabbed to death in LaSalle, near Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on the night of March 3, police said on Thursday.Originally from Ludhiana, Nancy was a commentator on India–Canada tensions, a critic of Khalistani extremism and took on politicians and religious leaders in her online posts. In recent weeks, she posted videos against Radha Soami Satsang Beas chief Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon, after he called on Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Nabha jail a few weeks back. Like other videos, she used some strong words against the dera chief as well. Nancy had also used her platform to confront Nihang Amritpal Singh Mehron—the main suspect in the June 2025 murder of influencer Kanchan Kumari—accusing him of moral policing.Some time ago, she also spoke against Akal Takht jathedar. At the time of her death, Nancy was divorced, living alone in Windsor, and working as a nurse. Her sister, Alisha Grewal, said Nancy had gone to LaSalle on March 3 to check on an elderly patient.As she was leaving the patient’s home shortly before 9.30pm, she was attacked. While Essex-Windsor emergency medical services transported her to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to injuries. The LaSalle police service has not yet confirmed if a suspect is in custody. The family revealed that Nancy had been receiving threats.A month before the stabbing, an attempt was made to torch her home, though the fire failed to spread due to weather conditions. Due to these safety concerns, Alisha and their mother, Shinderpal Kaur, frequently monitored Nancy’s home security cameras from Jalandhar. When Nancy failed to return home on March 3 night, the family reached out to the police, only to find out that authorities were already attempting to locate her next of kin.At her residence in Jalandhar, Shinderpal on Thursday named three people she believed were behind the murder. She alleged the main conspirator, an old man, was involved in a local gurdwara in Windsor, Ontario. She alleged that one of the three came to Nancy’s house earlier with his face covered. “She had CCTV cameras in and outside her house. Once Nancy spotted him, he was frightened. If there were no CCTV cameras, she could have been killed on that day,” she alleged.Shinderpal said Nancy insisted that the gurdwara install CCTV cameras, a proposal that drew objections. “Lately, she had been receiving threats after she raised questions regarding gold belonging to a deceased man who hailed from Phagwara,” her mother said, adding Nancy was keen to speak the truth on different issues and often tried to help the poor or those seeking justice. Her mother said Nancy went to Canada in 2018 after her marriage to a singer. She wanted a career in singing but could not make it and anchored stage shows. “Though it was the boy who sought her hand in marriage, they fell out after some time and she had to fend for herself,” she said. “She worked hard there and got Canadian citizenship three years ago.”About a month earlier, there had been an attempt to set her Windsor home on fire, but the effort failed as rain prevented the blaze from spreading.“She wanted me to visit her soon. First, our plan was to go in Feb, then April, and now, I am flying on Saturday,” she said.‘Against burning of India flag’Nancy Grewal’s mother Shinderpal Kaur said Nancy had cleared her stand on Khalistani extremism groups twothree months ago. In a video posted on Feb 22 on her YouTube channel, ‘Nancy Grewal Canada CA’, with the title, “I respect only original Khalistan## jo India da flag di disrespect karday# i hate ## (I hate those who disrespect Indian flag),” she said there were “a lot of rumours that she was against Khalistanis and that she abused them”. “I clarified several times that I am not against genuine Khalistanis; people have their rights. But I am against those Khalistanis who abuse women and issue dirty threats... I am against violence and burning the Indian flag,” she said. She said that she was against transnational repression and that this should not happen at all.Hailed from village in Ludhiana: MotherAfter her murder, there were several social media posts about Nancy Grewal’s original identity, including her religious identity and her surname. “Nancy clarified it in the past while posting pictures of her passport as well. Then I said she should stop giving clarifications. My husband, Manmohan Jeet Singh Grewal, who died in 2008, originally hailed from Narangwal village in Ludhiana district, and we lived in Sirsa. My father was Jathedar Gurdeep Singh Gill, from Chandbaja village, Faridkot. We are a Jat Sikh family, but even our identity was questioned,” she said.