Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for an investigation into allegations that the government of India was involved in assassination plots in the U.S. and Canada. Detailed in a statement by HRW, it was on a Friday when the organization made its appeal.
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested a “potential link” between the Government of India and the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was an Indian-born Canadian citizen who was murdered outside his Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. The activist was known for advocating for the creation of a majority-Sikh separatist state, “Khalistan”, in India’s Punjab region. However, this allegation made by Trudeau was rejected outright by India’s Foreign Ministry.
Further scrutiny emerged in late November when U.S. prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta, an Indian government employee, with conspiracy to murder pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The conspiracy was allegedly financed by an Indian government agency, leading Gupta to be reported as having paid $100,000 to an undercover DEA agent for Pannun’s assassination. This indictment stands as serious evidence of the targeted threats that critics of the Indian government, like Pannun, face.
Pannun, like Nijjar, has been a public supporter of Punjab seceding from India to establish a Sikh sovereign state. Both these activists were considered terrorists by the Indian government, a view still held for Pannun, according to an HRW report.
The HRW report sheds light on the protection government officials and employees get under Indian law against liability for extrajudicial killings. Section 197 of India’s criminal procedure code stipulates that state or central government approval is required before a public servant can be prosecuted for actions taken in their official capacity. This has led to many prosecutions against public servants being rarely approved by the national or state governments.
The continued tension in the region is underlined by an ongoing referendum, organized by the U.S.-based advocacy group Sikhs for Justice, asking whether Punjab should be an independent country. This action signals that many see Punjab as being occupied by the Indian government.
The Indian government’s alleged international intrigue isn’t just limited to these assassination plots. A recent Washington Post report outlined the government’s connection to “The Disinfo Lab”, a group publicly claiming to fight against ‘anti-India disinformation.’ The report unveils that the group is actually entrusted with discrediting foreign critics of the government, showcasing the multi-faceted strategies used by the Indian government to deal with dissent.
Read the full detailed report here.