Sikh separatist claims Indian ‘spy network’ operates in US, Canada

The US Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against two Indian nationals in connection with an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, in New York.

Reuters

October 29, 2024, 12:40

Last modified: October 29, 2024 12:48 pm

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a 56-year-old US and Canadian citizen, is interviewed in New York, USA, October 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

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Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a 56-year-old US and Canadian citizen, is interviewed in New York, USA, October 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

Canada and the United States must get tougher on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for trying to silence dissidents on foreign soil, a controversial Sikh separatist who was the target of an alleged Indian-led assassination plot said in an interview.

The US Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against two Indian nationals in connection with an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, in New York. The two Indian defendants included a former government official who, the indictment says, was an intelligence officer at the time and orchestrated the assassination plot.

Earlier this month, Pannun told Reuters the Modi government should not be allowed to engage in hostile activities in foreign countries and said Indian consulates in the US and Canada were running a “spy network”, although he did not provide any evidence.

The US and Canada “must firmly state that regimes like the Modi regime… cannot be allowed to come to America or Canada, challenge their sovereignty and get away with it. ) forever,” he said.

Pannun did not elaborate on the alleged spy network. Similar claims have been made by Sikh activists in America and Canada.

India’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters about Pannun’s allegations. India, where Pannun was born, has branded him a terrorist since 2020.

US and Canadian authorities declined to comment on Pannun’s allegations.

The US and Canada say Indian agents were involved in assassination plots in their countries last year against supporters of Khalistan, a Sikh homeland they want to separate from the Indian state of Punjab, where Sikh militants fought in the 1980s and 1990s thousands of people were killed over the years.

India denies involvement in any of the plots.

The allegations have damaged India’s ties with Canada and tested relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader in Canada. In May, Canadian police arrested and charged four Indians with murder. They have yet to be tried.

India has said Canada has not provided any evidence to support its allegations, and New Delhi and Ottawa each expelled six diplomats earlier this month in a widening diplomatic spat.

However, India said it was investigating the plot to kill Pannun, and U.S. officials said they wanted a speedy result.

Pannun said Vikash Yadav, the former Indian official indicted by the US for an alleged attempt on his life, was only a “mid-level soldier” tasked with orchestrating the assassination by senior Indian officials. He did not provide any evidence or say how he came to this conclusion.

New Delhi said Yadav was no longer a government employee, without saying whether he was an intelligence officer or saying when he left. Yadav’s whereabouts are unknown, but his family told Reuters earlier this month that he had been in contact with him and rejected the allegations in the US indictment.

Indian security officials have said they fear growing foreign support for Khalistan could lead to a resurgence of the militancy that previously paralyzed Punjab state, the birthplace of Sikh nationalism, where the separate homeland movement now enjoys little support.

Pannun, who is holding independent referendums in the US, Canada and Europe on the creation of Khalistan, said in an interview that his movement advocates a peaceful solution to the issue and will continue to work despite threats to his life.