Posted in Foreign News

Did India order the murder of a US Sikh separatist? Here’s what we know

   November 30, 2023
Did India order the murder of a US Sikh separatist? Here’s what we know


The US Department of Justice has announced indictment against an Indian who accuses him of working for the Indian government in carrying out the planned assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in New York.

Wednesday’s formal allegations linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to the attempted assassination of US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun follow numerous leaks to newspapers relating to the case.

U.S. officials’ suggestions that India may have been involved in an attempted extrajudicial killing on the soil of a friendly country come six months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused New Delhi of the killing of another Sikh separatist leader , Hardeep Singh, to have been involved in Nijjar, near Vancouver.

Here you will find everything you need to know about the latest allegations.

What does the US indictment say?

The US Department of Justice announced charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy against Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta, 52. Gupta is believed to live in India.

Federal prosecutors describe Gupta as an employee of an Indian government agency employee identified only as “CC-1.” The employee, CC-1, previously described himself as a senior field representative working with security management and intelligence. According to the indictment, CC-1 previously worked with the Central Reserve Police Force, a premier paramilitary force of the Indian government.

The indictment alleges that CC-1 directed the assassination plot from India and recruited Gupta to coordinate it in approximately May 2023.

CC-1 directed Gupta to contact a criminal associate to carry out the murder. Gupta contacted someone he believed to be a criminal associate. But in reality, according to the Justice Department, the person Gupta hired – unknown to him – was a confidential source working for U.S. law enforcement. This source in turn linked him to a “hitman” who was actually an undercover police officer working for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Gupta agreed to pay the hitman $100,000 for the job and paid him a $15,000 cash advance around June 9 in Manhattan.

Gupta was arrested and detained by Czech authorities on June 30 and is awaiting extradition. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years. The federal district court will determine the sentence.

What did the Indian government say?

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday it was “contrary to government policy” to carry out extraterritorial killings.

On Wednesday, the Indian government said it would formally investigate the concerns and take necessary action based on the findings of a panel set up on November 18. Bagchi did not provide further details about this investigation.

“We continue to expect the Indian government to provide accountability based on the results of its investigations,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?

This indictment comes a week after reports first emerged that U.S. authorities had done so a conspiracy foiled killing a Sikh separatist leader in the US on November 22. This leader was identified as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun is an immigration Lawyer and dual citizens of the USA and Canada. He is known for his engagement on social media through videos described as threats to Indian leaders or the government.

He was charged with terrorism and conspiracy in India because he was part of the movement advocating a separatist Sikh state. New Delhi listed him as an “individual terrorist” in 2020. In January 2021, during the farmers’ protests, India’s counter-terrorism agency registered a case against him for inciting violence.

He recently released a threatening video warning people to stay away from Air India flights from November 19. An Indian national airline plane was blown up in mid-air by suspected Sikh separatists while flying from Canada to India in 1985, killing more than 300 people.

On Wednesday, Pannun released a statement accusing Modi’s government of trying to kill him for organizing a referendum among diaspora Sikhs on Khalistan and urging the global community to vote on whether Punjab should be independent. “If death is the price for holding the Khalistan referendum, I am ready to pay that price,” he said.

What is the Khalistan Movement?

The Khalistan Movement seeks to establish a separate Sikh state encompassing Indian-held Punjab and other Punjabi-speaking regions in northern India. Khalistan is the proposed name for the state.

After initially gaining momentum in the 1970s, the movement died out in India after a brutal crackdown in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the idea of ​​a separate Sikh nation still enjoys some support in parts of the Sikh diaspora communities, particularly in Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia.

In recent months, prominent activists in the movement have died in Canada, Britain and other countries Pakistan.

Is this related to the murder of Hardeep Sing Nijjar?

Leader of the Sikh separatists Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Canada on June 18. He was also declared a terrorist by India three years ago.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India over possible involvement in the murder of 45-year-old Nijjar, sparked suspicion diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and New Delhi.

The indictment says that a day after Nijjar’s murder, Gupta told the undercover DEA agent that Nijjar was also a target, adding, “We have so many targets.”

Will the allegations impact India-US relations?

US President Joe Biden has already spoken to Modi about the allegations and top American diplomats and intelligence chiefs have discussed the case with their Indian counterparts.

The case is expected to raise tensions in bilateral relations in the US, but the fact that the Justice Department has not charged CC-1 or any other Indian government official – at least so far – will come as a relief to New Delhi .

The US views India as a key bulwark in a coalition of democracies in the Indo-Pacific region that it hopes can challenge China’s rise.





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