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OTTAWA, Ontario — A Canadian official alleged Tuesday that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. Indian government officials have repeatedly denied that Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd. Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies. Drouin said a meeting was held with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier. Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar’s murder and are awaiting trial.
Persons: Amit Shah, David Morrison, ” Morrison, Morrison, Shah’s, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Shah, Vikash Yadav, Nathalie Drouin, Lawrence Bishnoi, Bishnoi, Drouin, Narendra Modi’s, Ajit Doval, Mike Duheme Organizations: Canadian, Indian, Foreign, Washington Post, Sikh, Canada, United States Justice Department, Justice Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Locations: OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, British Columbia, Ottawa, New York City, York, India, United States, New Delhi, Singapore, Surrey, An Indian
Ottawa, Ontario AP —A Canadian official alleged Tuesday that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023. Indian government officials have repeatedly denied Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd. Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety.
Persons: Amit Shah, David Morrison, ” Morrison, Morrison, Shah’s, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Ottawa didn’t, Shah, Vikash Yadav, Nathalie Drouin, Lawrence Bishnoi, Bishnoi, Drouin, Ajit Doval, Mike Duheme Organizations: Ontario AP, Canadian, Indian, Foreign, Washington Post, Sikh, United States Justice Department, Justice Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Locations: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, British Columbia, New York City, York, India, United States, New Delhi, Singapore, Surrey, An Indian
The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. The Washington Post newspaper first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada. India has called Sikh separatists "terrorists" and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. The Canadian case is not the only instance of India's alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.
Persons: Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, of Home Affairs Amit Shah, Canada's, Shah, David Morrison, Morrison, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Vikash Yadav, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: Indian, India's, of Home Affairs, Washington Post, Foreign, Commission of, FBI, West Locations: Varanasi, Canada, U.S, Commission of India, Ottawa, India, Washington, Indian, New York City, China
The Justice Department, in an 18-page indictment Thursday, charged Vikash Yadav, 39, with three counts of murder-for-hire and money laundering. Federal prosecutors said Yadav was a “senior field officer” for New Delhi. Their New York target was an attorney and political activist who is a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, prosecutors said. Nijjar was also mentioned as a target by Yadav and was an associate of the activist he plotted to assassinate in New York, the Justice Department release said. Yadav was employed by India’s Cabinet secretariat, which also houses the country’s foreign intelligence wing, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Justice Department indictment said.
Persons: Vikash Yadav, Yadav, , Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Yadav “, Christopher Wray, , Matthew Miller, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, ” Miller, Prosecutors, Narendra Modi’s, Matthew G, Olsen Organizations: DELHI, The Justice Department, New Delhi, FBI, U.S, Department, Indian Government, , ., The, DOJ, Associated Press, AP India, , State Department, U.S ., Research, Embassy, India’s Ministry, Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, Indian, Justice Department’s National Security Division Locations: U.S, New York City, New, India, York, Czech Republic, Washington, Canada, Nijjar, New York, Indian, “ Canada, New Delhi, United States
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, on Monday, linking them to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader and alleging a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada. Earlier in the day, India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six high-ranking Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner, and said it had withdrawn its envoy from Canada, contradicting Canada’s statement of expulsion. India said it had asked six Canadian diplomats to leave by Saturday. The ministry also said it had summoned Acting High Commissioner in India Stewart Wheeler, Canada’s top diplomat in the South Asian country. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, ” Trudeau, , Canada’s, Trudeau, , India Stewart Wheeler, Melanie Joly, “ We’re, ” Fen Osler Hampson Organizations: Ontario —, Commonwealth, Canadian, South, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Government of, , Ottawa’s Carleton University, U.S, State Department, Sikh Locations: OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, India, Canada’s, Government, Government of India, New Delhi, Ottawa, Punjab, New York, Indian, Washington
CNN —Canada announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats Monday, including the high commissioner, after the police accused agents of the Indian government of being linked to homicides, harassment and other “acts of violence” against Sikh separatists in the country. The Indian government has called the accusations “preposterous” and said it was withdrawing the officials expelled by the Canadian government. Earlier on Monday, the Royal Canada Mounted Police (RCMP) took the unusual step of publicly disclosing details of multiple investigations into the involvement of Indian government agents alleged to have taken part in “serious criminal activity” in Canada. RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, left, and Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin take part in a news conference at RCMP National Headquarters in Ottawa on Oct. 14, 2024. Earlier this year, Canada charged several Indian nationals with the alleged murder of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.
Persons: , Mélanie Joly, Stewart Ross Wheeler, Sanjay Kumar Verma, ” Joly, , Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Mike Duheme, Duheme, Brigitte Gauvin, Justin Tang, ” Duheme, Nijjar, Trudeau, Weeks, Gurpatwant Singh, Nikhil Gupta, Pannun Organizations: CNN — Canada, Sikh, “ Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s, Foreign Affairs, India’s Ministry, External Affairs, Royal Canada Mounted Police, RCMP, RCMP National Headquarters, Canadian Press, Canadian, ” Global Affairs Canada, Indian Locations: Canada, India, Ottawa, Canadian, Surrey, British Columbia, India’s Punjab, United States
Canada and India each expelled six diplomats Monday in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada. Shortly afterward, the Indian foreign ministry said that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner and the deputy high commissioner. It said in a statement that the diplomats were told to leave India by the end of Saturday. A senior Canadian official said that Canada expelled the Indian diplomats first before they withdrew. In response to the allegations, India told Canada last year to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country.
Persons: Mélanie Joly, Joly, " Joly, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Mike Duheme, Duheme, Brigitte Gauvin, Gauvin, Trudeau's, Trudeau, Stewart Wheeler, Wheeler, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Organizations: Foreign, Canadian, Canada, Canadians, RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Khalistan, Vienna Convention, Diplomatic Relations, Sikh, U.S . State Department, United, Indian, Reserve Police Force Locations: Canada, India, Indian, Vienna, Surrey, British Columbia, An Indian, New Delhi, Australia, Canadian, New York, Washington, United States, Delhi
Nikhil Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Gupta traveled to Prague from India last June and was arrested by Czech authorities. Canada said in September its intelligence agencies were pursuing allegations linking India’s government to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 in Canada. India’s government has dissociated itself from the plot against Pannun, saying it was against government policy. New Delhi has long complained about Sikh separatist groups outside India, viewing them as security threats.
Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, Jeffrey Chabrowe, India’s, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannun, , Narendra Modi, Washington Organizations: Washington Reuters, U.S, of Prisons, Indian, Metropolitan Detention Center, U.S . Justice, Sikh, Reuters Locations: An, United States, Czech Republic, U.S, India, Prague, Czech, Brooklyn, Brooklyn ., Canada, Washington . New Delhi
An Indian national accused of helping plot to kill a U.S. citizen in New York City has been extradited to the U.S. to stand trial. A U.S. District Court spokesman said Nikhil Gupta is scheduled to appear Monday in the lower Manhattan courthouse on federal murder-for-hire charges. That critic has been identified as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom Indian officials have labeled a terrorist, according to The Associated Press. Pannun — believed to be the target of the alleged plot — advocates for an independent Punjab region for India's Sikh population, officials said. In November, Justice Department officials announced charges against Gupta after he was arrested in June in the Czech Republic.
Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun —, Hardeep Singh, DEA spokespeople Organizations: Department, Associated Press, Justice Department, Prosecutors, Drug, Administration, DEA, FBI, British Columbia, Investigators, U.S Locations: Indian, U.S, New York City, Manhattan, Punjab, Czech Republic, New York, Canada, British
Months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada accused India’s government of plotting a murder on Canadian soil — plunging diplomatic relations between the two countries to their lowest level ever — the first arrests in the killing, which came on Friday, did little to demystify the basis of his claim. The police didn’t offer clues or present any evidence that India had orchestrated the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh nationalist leader who was gunned down at the temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia, in June. What they did say was that three Indian men had committed the killing and that an investigation into India’s role was ongoing. Before the arrests, Indian officials had maintained that Canada was trying to drag New Delhi into what it described as essentially a rivalry between gangs whose members were long wanted for crimes back in India. After the arrests, a report from the CBC, Canada’s public broadcasting corporation, based on anonymous sources, also said the suspects belonged to an Indian criminal gang.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, India’s, Hardeep Singh Nijjar Organizations: Canada, CBC Locations: India, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Delhi
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
Canadian Police Arrest 3 in Slaying of Sikh Leader
  + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Vjosa Isai | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: 1 min
Three men were arrested Friday and charged in the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of orchestrating, fraying relations between the two countries. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh nationalist and Canadian citizen, was gunned down last June by two masked assailants in the parking lot of the temple in Surrey, British Columbia, where he was president, according to the police. Three men, all Indian nationals in their 20s, were all arrested in Edmonton, Alberta and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Police identified the men as Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreeet Singh. The police said the men had been living in Canada three to five years and were not permanent residents of Canada, but would not comment on their immigration status.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreeet Singh Organizations: Police Locations: British Columbia, Surrey, Edmonton , Alberta, Canada
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
“I could not find you a hit man,” he said. Only about half of all murders in the United States are cleared or solved each year, according to the F.B.I., making it difficult to say definitively how many people are killed specifically by hit men. While there are also no handy stats on how many murder-for-hire attempts fail, experts and indictments indicate that many are marred by amateurism and ineptitude. “There isn’t a real efficient, high-quality hit service out there like in the movies,” said Michael C. Farkas, a defense attorney who has worked as a New York City homicide prosecutor. That case chilled Canadian and Indian relations, and has cast suspicion on Narendra Modi, India’s conservative prime minister and a Hindu nationalist.
Persons: Robert Baer, , , ” Dennis Kenney, ” Mr, Kenney, amateurism, Michael C, Farkas, , Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi Organizations: John Jay College of Criminal Locations: United States, New York City, British Columbia
[1/3] File photo: The flags of the United States and India are displayed on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that an Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, while it announced charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. U.S. officials have named the target of the attempted murder as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada. The Indian government has long complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India. They also discussed developments in the Middle East, including the Israel-Hamas war, plans for a post-war Gaza and recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the White House said on Monday.
Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Jon, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, Biden, Ajit Doval, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler, Lincoln Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, Rights, White House, U.S . Justice Department, Indian, U.S, National, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, U.S, New Delhi, Canada, Vancouver, China, Israel, Gaza, Red, Washington
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
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
The U.S. charges come about two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb, in June. "The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. Earlier on Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly urged India to be more forthcoming in the ongoing murder investigation. Both the United States and Canada are looking to build better ties with India to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and the allegations undermine that effort. Neither New Delhi nor Ottawa looks likely to take dramatic steps to reconcile soon as Canada's murder investigation proceeds and Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for Indian national elections by May.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Melanie Joly, Nijjar, Joly, Narendra Modi, Ismail Shakil, Steve Scherer, Chizu Nomiyama, Sandra Maler Organizations: Canadian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Indian, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, OTTAWA, Canada, India, British Columbia, The U.S, Vancouver, United States, Ottawa, Delhi
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
OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. allegations that an Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil underscores the need for India to take similar allegations by Canada seriously, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday. "The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously," Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. The U.S. charges come about two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb, in June. India has rejected that allegation. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Ismail Shakil, Steve Scherer, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: OTTAWA, Indian, Canadian, U.S . Justice, New York City Locations: U.S, India, Canada, New York, United States, Ottawa, The U.S, Vancouver
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
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
(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
The flags of the United States and India are displayed on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India will formally investigate security concerns aired by the United States in a warning to New Delhi about its links to a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The Financial Times newspaper on Nov. 22 first reported the thwarted plot against Pannun in the United States. The White House said it was treating the issue with "utmost seriousness" and had raised it with India at the "seniormost levels". The foiled plot and the U.S. concerns were reported two months after Canada said it was looking at credible allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, in a Vancouver suburb.
Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Biden, Gurpatwant Singh, Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi's, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Sanjay Verma, India’s, Verma, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, White House, Financial Times, U.S, Indian, Reuters, Defence, CTV, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, DELHI, New Delhi, China, Delhi, U.S, Canada, Vancouver, . New Delhi, Canadian, Ottawa
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