Indian police on April 24 arrested Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh after a month-long manhunt. Singh gained notoriety for supporting the Khalistan movement, which calls for the establishment of an independent Sikh homeland in the northwest state of Punjab. He was taken into custody in the gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) in the village of Moga, Punjab. He is charged with attempted murder, obstructing law enforcement, and disturbing the peace under terms of the harsh National Security Act. The charges concern a Feb. 23 incident in which hundreds of followers of Singh’s organization Waris Punjab De (Heirs of Punjab) stormed a police station in Amritsar with sticks, swords and firearms, demanding the release of a detained member of their group. During the manhunt for Singh, authorities cut off internet access to all Punjab, a state of nearly 30 million. (Jurist, Mint)
Images of Amritpal Singh, Khalistan flag: Wikimedia Commons. Collage: Jurist
US indicts India national in assassination plot on Sikh activist
The US Department of Justice announced Nov. 29 an indictment against Indian national Nikhil Gupta for an alleged unsuccessful plot to assassinate a US citizen of Indian descent who is a Sikh separatist advocate. The unsealed indictment accuses Gupta of making payments for the intended murder, and instructing that the murder should not occur during “anticipated high-level diplomatic engagement” between India and the US.
The announcement comes two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saidthat India’s government may have carried out the murder of Sikh community leader and gurdwara president Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in June in the parking lot of his Surrey, British Columbia place of worship. The September announcement from Trudeau has since strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India. (Jurist)
Czech Republic to extradite Nikhil Gupta
A Czech appeals court has ruled that Prague can extradite to the United States an Indian man accused by the US of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil, according to the Czech news website Seznam Zprávy.
The US Department of Justice announced te indictment of Nikhil Gupta in November 2023. According to the DoJ, Gupta paid an undercover US agent to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a political activist who lives in New York. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 at the request of the US. (Jurist)
India blocks YouTube access to Canadian documentary
CBC reported March 13 that India blocked access on YouTube and X to a Canadian investigative documentaryfocused on the alleged involvement of the Indian government in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed last June in British Columbia.
The CBC Fifth Estate documentary connects Nijjar ‘s death to a murder-for-hire plot by the Indian government and discusses India’s current and past targeting of Sikh Canadians. Since Nijjar’s death, no arrests have been made or suspects named by the Canadian authorities. (Jurist)
India and Pakistan named in Canada election interference
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), released declassified reports April 4 regarding alleged attempts by the governments of India and Pakistan to interfere in Canada’s elections, according to the CBC.
The CSIS findings suggest that during the 2021 Canadian federal election, India engaged in covert operations, including the deployment of a government proxy agent. This agent was allegedly involved in providing illegal financial support to candidates favorable to India’s interests. The agency noted that these activities were primarily aimed at electoral districts with significant numbers of Indo-Canadian voters. Specifically, the agency alleges these activities involve targeting ridings perceived to have voters sympathetic to the Khalistani movement.
The CSIS also indicated that during the 2019 Canadian federal election, Pakistani government officials engaged in limited foreign interference. (Jurist)
India arrests suspect in alleged London embassy attack
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a suspect, Inderpal Singh Gaba, in an alleged attack on the Indian High Commission in London in March 2023. The supposed attack occurred during protests outside the High Commission by supporters of the Khalistan separatist movement. (Jurist)
Canada: three arrested over Sikh activist’s killing
Three Indian nationals have been arrested and charged over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead last June by masked gunmen in a parking lot in a Vancouver suburb. The diplomatic row was sparked after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged India’s government may have been involved. (BBC News)
Canada expels Indian diplomats
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announced on Oct. 14 the expulsion of six Indian consular officials and diplomats, following a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigation into crimes allegedly connected to the Indian government.
Pursuant to the results of their investigation, the RCMP found “Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies; and other individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion.” (Jurist)
India ex-spy charged with plotting New York assassination
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment Oct. 17 against a former Indian intelligence officer who is accused of planning a failed assassination attempt against a Sikh-American activist in New York City known for his vocal criticism of the Indian government. The charges allege that Vikash Yadav orchestrated a plan to murder dual US-Canadian citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent figure in the Sikh separatist movement. At the time of the plot, prosecutors claim Yadav was working within India’s top foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.
Yadav and co-defendant Nikhil Gupta face charges of attempted murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. They also face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Justice Department officials stated that they “will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled,” and will hold “wrongful actors accountable no matter who they are or where they reside.”
India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated at a press briefing that Yaduv is “no longer employed by India.”
The indictment alleges that in May 2023 Yadav recruited Gupta, an Indian national with a background in drug and weapons trafficking, to assist in carrying out the plot. Yadav, through Gupta, allegedly agreed to pay an undercover police officer $100,000 to carry out the murder. The indictment claims that Yadav provided personal details about Pannun, including his home address, daily routines and surveillance photos. Gupta allegedly instructed the hitman to avoid carrying out the assassination during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to the US in June 2023.
On June 18, 2023, just two days before the visit, masked gunmen killed Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an associate of the activist and fellow Sikh separatist leader, outside a Sikh temple in Canada. Following Nijjar’s murder, Gupta allegedly informed the undercover officer that Nijjar had also been a target and emphasized that the assassination of the activist should proceed without delay. (Jurist)