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☆ Canada charges three Indian nationals for assassination of Sikh separatist
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The suspects were identified in court filings as Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karan Brar. The men are accused of conspiring “with others to commit the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” according to the filings. Authorities are currently investigating if they have ties to the Indian government – the latest development in a long-running intrigue that has fueled diplomatic tension between Canada and India. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was gunned down by masked men last June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. Officials speak at a press briefing on Friday, May 3, regarding arrests made in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar, “, Hardeep Singh, …, Trudeau, Nijjar, David Teboul, Gurpatwant Singh, Nikhil Gupta, Pannun, Gupta, ” Gupta, Pritpal Singh, ” Organizations: CNN, Canadian, Authorities, Government of, ” Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Indian, American Sikh Caucus Committee, FBI Locations: Canada, New Delhi, India, Canadian, Surrey, British Columbia, India’s Punjab, Government of India, United States, American

CNN —The home of a Canadian Sikh activist in Brampton, Ontario, was hit by gunfire on Monday, months after the assassination of another activist sent India-Canada relations into a spiral. “It appears that only one bullet hole was found but that is subject to change,” Peel Regional Police wrote in a statement. The bullet hole in Gosal's home in Brampton, Ontario. The Canadian citizen was gunned down by masked men last June outside a Sikh temple in British Colombia. Weeks later, the United States accused an Indian government official of being involved in a conspiracy to kill another Sikh separatist, American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on US soil.

Persons: Inderjit Singh, Gosal, Singh, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Weeks, Gurpatwant Singh, Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Nijjar, “ Organizations: CNN, Justice, Peel Regional Police, Indian Consulate Toronto, Canadian, Indian, Global Affairs Canada Locations: Brampton , Ontario, India, Canada, India’s Punjab, British Colombia, United States, Ontario, Punjab

The official told Gupta - who the prosecutors described as an Indian national involved in drugs and weapons trafficking - about a "target" in New York. The official wanted Gupta to orchestrate the target's murder, in exchange for getting criminal charges against him in India dropped. While prosecutors have not identified the alleged victim, a senior administration official told Reuters it was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based lawyer who leads a separatist group called Sikhs for Justice. U.S. prosecutors did not name the Indian official, who they described as a government employee responsible for intelligence and security matters. "We are all counting on you," Gupta told the purported hitman in a video call on June 12.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun, Narendra Modi's, Gupta's, Jake Sullivan, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Modi, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Trevor Hunnicut, Heather Timmons Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, Reuters, Justice, Administration, Manhattan, National Security, U.S, White, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, DELHI, Indian, New York, India, India's Gujarat, United States, Washington, New Delhi, Vancouver, Prague, Delhi

U.S. officials, after learning about the plot in late July, demanded that India investigate, a senior administration official said. High-level meetings and pledges of closer cooperation have continued, with Biden's secretaries of state and defense visiting Delhi this month. A senior U.S. administration official called the assassination plot a "serious matter" and said Washington expects India to stop such activities, even as the Biden administration pursues "an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation" with India. Biden has made a priority of nurturing ties with India, hoping to counter China’s ambitions in Asia while drawing India away from Russia as the U.S. seeks to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. "Both the U.S. and India realize that they need each other, perhaps the U.S. a bit more than India."

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Nikhil Gupta, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Biden, Modi, Lisa Curtis, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada’s, Happymon Jacob, Richard Rossow, Ashley Tellis, David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis, Krishn Kaushik, Jonathan Landay, Trevor Hunnicutt, Don Durfee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, New, New York City, Indian, White House, CIA, Washington, South, National Security Council, Canada, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Washington's Center, Strategic, International Studies, Biden Administration, Carnegie Endowment, International, U.S, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, U.S, China, Manhattan, New York, New Delhi, Delhi, The U.S, Central Asia, Asia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, York, Canada, Vancouver suburb, Gujarat

☆ Sikh Activist Named as Assassination Target Says India Wanted Him Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | More About Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The conspiracy and plot to kill me comes from the government of India,” he said in an interview. Mr. Pannun is a Sikh separatist who envisions an independent Punjab, the northern Indian state where his minority religious group is dominant. Mr. Pannun is a 56-year-old dual American and Canadian citizen who has lived in New York City for nearly three decades. He was not named in the indictment, but American officials confirmed on Wednesday that he was the intended victim. Mr. Pannun, a general counsel for a New York-based group called Sikhs for Justice, which seeks independence for Punjab, said he was not surprised by the assassination plot against him.

Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, ”, Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Narendra Modi Organizations: Indian, Justice Locations: India, Punjab, New York City, New York

☆ A Timeline of Plots Against Sikh Activists, According to Canada and the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Derek M. Norman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors in the United States announced this week that they had charged an Indian national in a murder-for-hire scheme that targeted a Sikh activist in New York. The plot was foiled, they said, but it further complicated the delicate diplomatic relations between the United States, Canada and India. The U.S. prosecutors also linked the plot to a murder in Canada last June. Relations between India and Canada had soured this fall after Canadian officials accused Indian government agents of the killing. In or around May 2023American prosecutors said that, around this time, an unnamed Indian government employee recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, to orchestrate the assassination of a U.S. citizen, according to the indictment.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi, Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: United States, Biden, The U.S, Indian, Justice Locations: New York, United States, Canada, India, China, Russia, The, Punjab

☆ US and India’s strengthening bond is weak on trust
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Nov 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Trust between the United States and India is eroding. It says it will investigate security concerns aired by the United States. Trying that on the United States would be more consequential: Apple (AAPL.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O) are looking to build supply chains in the country, and the U.S. is the largest market for India’s people-heavy IT services companies. The United States and India may draw a quick line under the murder-for-hire episode, but it will sow a lasting seed of doubt in the relationship. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, soberly, ”, Justin Trudeau, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, Nikhil Gupta, “, Arindam Bagchi, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: White, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, U.S . Department of Justice, U.S, Companies, Micron, General Electric Aerospace, Ottawa, Global, Saudi Arabia’s Crown, Indian, U.S . Justice, New, New York City, Prosecutors, “ Security Management, Thomson Locations: India, Washington , U.S, Rights MUMBAI, United States, Delhi, American, China, Asia, Canada, U.S, Vietnam, Saudi, Istanbul, Manhattan, New York

☆ Prosecutors Charge Indian Man With Trying to Kill Sikh Activist in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hindu nationalists at a recent rally in New Delhi held a banner depicting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the alleged target of an assassination plot. Photo: arun sankar/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesU.S. prosecutors charged an Indian man with trying to assassinate an American citizen on U.S. soil, a dramatic development that threatens to cause new rifts in the deepening relationship between allies Washington and New Delhi. In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, prosecutors said Nikhil Gupta paid someone he thought was a hit man $100,000 to murder the target, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an advocate for carving out an independent Sikh homeland from the north Indian state of Punjab.

Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, arun sankar, Nikhil Gupta Organizations: Agence France, Getty Locations: New Delhi, American, U.S, Washington, Punjab

☆ Man charged in alleged plot by Indian government official to assassinate U.S. citizen
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced murder-for-hire charges against a man related to an alleged plot by an Indian government official to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City. Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national, is charged in federal court in Manhattan with two criminal counts related to the ultimately foiled murder plot, a newly unsealed court filing shows. The Indian government official who allegedly directed the murder plot has called himself a "Senior Field Officer" with responsibilities in "Security Management" and "Intelligence," according to the DOJ. Gupta allegedly then helped broker a deal for the Indian government official to pay the purported hitman $100,000 for the assassination. The government official fed personal information about the victim to Gupta and asked for regular updates about the progress of the murder plot.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden's, Biden, Kevin Dietsch, Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Nijjar, William Burns, National Intelligence Avril Haines Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, The Justice Department, ., Department of Justice, New York City ., New York Times, Washington Post, Justice, DOJ, Indian, Intelligence, U.S, Sikh, New, Canadian, CIA, National Intelligence, Indian Embassy Locations: WASHINGTON, DC, Washington ,, U.S, New York City, Manhattan, Czech Republic, Punjab, India, British Columbia, Canada, New Delhi

☆ An Indian government official directed a plot to assassinate a Sikh US citizen on American soil, feds say — and more attempts were planned
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementA member of the Indian government directed a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen on American soil, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment. Students give final touches to paintings of US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at an art school in Mumbai on September 5, 2023, ahead of the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi. President Joe Biden personally raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in September, according to the Financial Times. In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India's government of being involved in the attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India welcomes US President Joe Biden for the 2023 G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi.

Persons: —, Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh, Gupta, Pannum, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Giorgia Meloni, PUNIT PARANJPE, Getty Images Biden, William Burns, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannum's, Justin Trudeau, India's, Hardeep Singh, Trudeau, Dan Kitwood, Affairs didn't, GUPTA, Punnam Organizations: Justice Department, Service, Indian, Washington Post, Department, Prosecutors, Italian, Getty Images, Financial Times, CIA, National Intelligence, Justice, Financial, Canadian, of, India, White, India's Ministry, Affairs, Getty Locations: Canada, India, Manhattan, Punjab, New Delhi, New York City, California, Czech Republic, Mumbai, AFP, United States, China, Surrey, of India

CNN —US federal prosecutors have charged an Indian national in an alleged murder-for-hire plot to try to assassinate a Sikh political activist in New York City, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada in June, and the Canadian government said it had credible information linking India to the murder. People stomp on an Indian flag and a cutout of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a Sikh rally outside the Indian consulate in Toronto to raise awareness for the Indian government's alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia on September 25, 2023. Cole Burston/AFP/Getty ImagesNijjar and Pannun were associates, US prosecutors say, as they were both leaders of the Sikh separatist movement. The Indian official gave Gupta Pannun’s home address, phone numbers and details on his daily activities, prosecutors allege.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, “, ” Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi, Cole Burston, Pannun, Nijjar, Nijjar “, – Organizations: CNN, Justice, Indian, Getty Locations: New York City, New York, India, Czech Republic, Canada, Toronto, British Columbia, AFP

☆ Indian gov't official directed Sikh separatist's assassination plot in US, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target. According to prosecutors, the official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Damian Williams, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Indian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New York, India, Czech, New York City, Washington, United States, New Delhi, Canada, India's Punjab, Vancouver, Air India

Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin. The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a "senior field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence" employed by the Indian government who "directed the plot from India." It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government official was linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government policy." 'WE HAVE SO MANY TARGETS'According to U.S. prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Damian Williams, Biden, Bill Burns, Narendra Modi, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Adrienne Watson, credibly, Pannun, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Heather Timmons, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, U.S . Justice, New, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, National, National Intelligence, White House National Security Council, Reuters, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, India, United States, Canada, Czech, Vancouver, New Delhi, China, Air India, Washington

☆ The U.S. Charged an Indian Man in a Plot to Kill a Sikh Activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Federal prosecutors accused an Indian national today of attempting to kill a Sikh separatist in New York City. The hit in the U.S. was planned by an Indian government official who told the man tapped to carry it out, Nikhil Gupta, that there was a target in New York and another in California, according to prosecutors. “We have so many targets,” the official told him. Prosecutors said that Gupta hired a hit man to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. citizen and outspoken proponent of independence for the Indian state of Punjab. The supposed hit man, however, was an undercover officer, prosecutors said.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, “, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: U.S ., Prosecutors Locations: New York City, Canada, Washington , Ottawa, New Delhi, U.S, New York, California, Punjab

☆ India current account deficit likely narrowed to 2.7% of GDP in Q4
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Madhumita Gokhale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The median forecast of 22 economists polled March 16-23 showed a current account deficit of $23.0 billion in October-December 2022, or 2.7% of gross domestic product (GDP). More than half of the expected narrowing is due to a reduction in the goods trade deficit, suggesting weakening domestic demand in Asia's third-largest economy. India's merchandise trade deficit shrank to $72.79 billion last quarter, compared to $78.32 billion in July-September, according to ministry of commerce data. These are the two reasons why we are seeing that the (current account deficit) numbers are better." A separate Reuters poll of economists who had a longer-term view forecast the current account gap to average 3.0% of GDP this fiscal year before shrinking to 2.6% in the next.

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