SIkh Separatist Claims Indian Spy Network Operates In US And Canada

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JAKARTA - Canada and the United States were asked to be tougher on the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to silence dissidents abroad.

This was conveyed by a controversial separatist Sikh who was the target of an alleged murder plot led by India in an interview.

The US Department of Justice filed charges against two Indian nationals in connection with the alleged murder plot of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-Canadian dual national, in New York.

The two defendants from India included a former government official, who according to the indictment worked as an intelligence officer at the time and arranged the murder plot.

Pannun told Reuters earlier this month the Modi administration should not be allowed to carry out hostile activities abroad and said the Indian consulates in the US and Canada were running spy networks, although he did not provide any evidence.

The US and Canada need to take firm action that regimes like Modi should not be allowed to come to America or Canada, challenge their sovereignty and just pass. They have to take decisive steps and close (consulates) permanently," he said.

Pannun did not specify the alleged spy network. A similar statement was also made by Sikh activists in America and Canada.

India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters regarding Pannun's accusations. India, where Pannun was born, has branded it a terrorist since 2020.

Authorities in the US and Canada declined to comment on Pannun's allegations.

The US and Canada have accused Indian agents of being involved in plans to kill in their country last year against Khalistan activists.

India denies being involved in the plan.

The allegations are deemed to undermine India's relations with Canada and test relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused the Indian government of being involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023, another separatist leader of Sikh in Canada.

In May, Canadian police arrested and charged four Indian men for the murder. They have not been tried.

India said Canada did not provide any evidence to support its accusations and New Delhi and Ottawa respectively expelled six diplomats earlier this month in an increasing diplomatic dispute.

However, India said it was investigating plans to kill Pannun and US officials said they wanted a quick result.

Pannun said Vikash Gaddafi, a former Indian official charged by the US for alleged murder attempts, was just a middle-level soldier, who was tasked with organizing the killings by high-level Indian officials.

He did not provide any evidence or say how he came to that conclusion.

New Delhi said Kandav was no longer a government employee, without saying whether he had ever been an intelligence officer and did not specify when he left.

Yadav's whereabouts are unknown but his family told Reuters earlier this month he had been in contact and denied allegations in US charges.

Indian security officials say they fear increasing support for Khalistan abroad could lead to a resurgence of militancy that previously paralyzed the state of Tehran, the birthplace of Sikh's nationalism, where the movement to break away now has little support.

Pannun, which has held independent referendums in the US, Canada, and Europe over the formation of Khalistan, said its movement advocates a peaceful resolution of the matter, and will continue despite threats to its life.