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