The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced an indictment against an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, for an alleged unsuccessful assassination plot against a US citizen of Indian descent who advocates for Sikh separatism. The indictment, recently unsealed, alleges that Gupta coordinated and financed the targeted murder, laying down specific instructions that the act should not coincide with any high-level diplomatic engagement between India and the US.
As part of Gupta’s alleged plan, the murderer’s role was presumably taken on by an undercover US agent. The indictment reveals that the intended victim, residing in New York City, is a vocal critic of the Indian government. This individual leads a US-based organization campaigning for Punjab’s secession from India to create a sovereign Sikh state. Charges against Gupta include conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder-for-hire.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commented on the threat saying, “As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralized this deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad.”
In response to the US indictment, the Indian government has established a high-level Enquiry Committee to examine the situation thoroughly. The Government of India reemphasized that they treat such threats seriously, especially when they implicate national security.
Several sources, including Reuters and Time, have identified the potential victim as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Pannun is a prominent figure for the Sikhs for Justice, an organization advocating for Punjab’s separation from India to establish an independent “Khalistan.”
The news of this indictment breaks following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in September that India’s government might be responsible for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader in Surrey, British Columbia. This matter has put additional tensions on the Canada-India diplomatic relations.
The full story and announcement of the indictment can be viewed here.