US government gives a warning to India
Shares
US authorities have reportedly thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and American-Canadian citizen, on American soil. A warning was also issued to India over suspicions of its involvement in the plot.
Pannun serves as the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based group advocating for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
People privy to the case, on the condition of anonymity, did not say whether the protest lodged with India led the planners to abandon their plan or whether the FBI intervened and foiled a scheme already in motion.
The US informed allies about the plot following the murder of Canadian Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver, Canada in June. In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking New Delhi to Nijjar’s fatal shooting.
An anonymous source revealed that the US protest was issued after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile state visit to Washington in June.
US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator in a New York district court. The Justice Department is debating whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public, or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. APP/AFP
