Before Nijjar death, US foiled murder bid on Khalistani leader, warned India: Report
According to the report, attack in the US was targeted at Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, but it was not immediately clear when this plot to murder him had been foiled
At a time when India and Canada are locked in a diplomatic tussle over the latter’s claim that Indian agents may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, a media report has claimed that US authorities had previously foiled an attempt to assassinate another Khalistani leader on American soil and warned the Indian government over suspicions that it was involved in the plot.
The Financial Times report, published on Wednesday (November 22), is likely to come as a big discomfort to the Indian government which has been steadfastly denying Canada’s charge. The FT report quoted “multiple people familiar with the case” without naming them.
According to the report, the attack in the US was targeted at Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Pannun is the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group closely associated with the Khalistan movement. It was not clear, though, when this plot to murder him had been foiled.
According to one of the FT’s sources, the US warning came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit in June. It was not immediately clear whether the warning led to the alleged plot being called off or whether the FBI foiled it.
US shared info with allies
According to the report, it was after the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian Sikh leader who was shot dead in Vancouver in June, that the US informed some of its allies about the previous plot. But none of it came to light until September, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the sensational claim that there were “credible allegations” linking New Delhi to Nijjar’s death.
Washington has also been tight-lipped over the incident and only “urged” India to help Canada with the investigation without outright censuring New Delhi in public over Nijjar’s case. US President Joe Biden had reportedly raised Canada’s concerns with Modi at the G20 summit in September itself. But it wasn’t immediately clear whether Biden had raised the Pannun case as well.
The FT report says that the matter is currently sub judice in the US, with the federal prosecutors filing a sealed charge sheet in a New York district court against at least one alleged culprit of the plot to murder Pannun. The US justice department is reportedly yet to decide on whether to make the matter public or wait until Canada is done with its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. In the meantime, one of the alleged culprits is believed to have left the US.
Earlier this month, Pannun was in news for warning Sikhs not to fly Air India because it could be “life threatening”. India has accused several western countries, including Canada, of being too tolerant of Khalistani activists, who “misuse” their freedom.
