Unveiling Gurpatwant Singh Pannun: The Alleged Target of a US Planned Hit Job

According to sources cited by The Financial Times on Wednesday, the US foiled a plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil and warned the Indian government about possible involvement in the plot.

Pannun is the leader of the Sikhs for Justice organization, based in the US, which India has classified as a terrorist organization. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a citizen of both Canada and the United States, has been working to resurrect the movement for an independent “Khalistan.”

According to the Financial Times, those with knowledge of the case declined to comment on whether the plotters changed their minds after the protest in New Delhi or if the FBI stepped in and thwarted an already-formed scheme.

The report claims that after Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Vancouver in June, the US notified a few allies about the plot.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada stated in September that there were “credible allegations” indicating Indian agents had a part in Nijjar’s murder.

Rejecting the claim, New Delhi requested proof. According to FT, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile state visit to Washington in June, there were protests in the US.

According to the report, US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged plot perpetrator in a New York district court in addition to the diplomatic warning.

The US Justice Department stated that it is considering whether to release the indictment and make the accusations public or to hold off until Canada completes its investigation into the death of Najjar. It also stated that one of the defendants in the indictment is thought to have left the country.

In a recent security discussion, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) disclosed that it had received “some inputs” from the US regarding a potential “nexus” between terrorists, organized crime, and other groups. Following claims by a UK-based daily that the US “thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate” Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil, the MEA responded a few hours later.

Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, stated in a statement that these inputs related to a connection between terrorists, organized crime, and other groups, but she did not say where. But neither Pannun nor the UK Daily’s report was mentioned in the MEA statement.

Since such inputs affect our own national security interests as well, India takes them seriously. Relevant departments are already looking into issues in relation to US inputs,” he continued.

In response to inquiries from the media regarding a Financial Times report claiming that the US government had “issued a warning” to India over worries that New Delhi was “involved in the plot” to eliminate Pannun, the Ministry of External Affairs released the statement.

The Financial Times report further stated that US federal prosecutors had charged at least one person suspected of carrying out the assassination attempt on Pannun in a New York district court with a sealed indictment—a formal accusation filed in court with the contents kept secret.