US thwarted a plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, warned India: Report

US authorities thwarted an alleged attempt to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the New York-based Khalistani terrorist. The reported plot on American soil prompted a warning from the US to the Indian government.

Pannun has been in the headlines for multiple inflammatory threats against India.

Diplomatic warning

• According to a Financial Times report citing anonymous sources familiar with the case, the protest was issued by the US after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile state visit to Washington in June.

• The intended target, Pannun, is the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, a US-based Khalistan group.

• Sikhs for Justice is designated as a terrorist group in India.

• The report added that it remains unclear whether the warning led the plotters to abandon their plan or if the FBI intervened to foil an ongoing scheme.

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Investigation

• In a discreet move, US federal prosecutors reportedly filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator in a New York district court, as per the Financial Times.
• The US Justice Department is reportedly deliberating on whether to make the details public or await the conclusion of Canada's investigation into the murder of another Sikh terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Vancouver.
• Following Nijjar's murder, the US shared Pannun case details with allies, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously hinted at "credible allegations" linking New Delhi to Nijjar's fatal shooting.

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India has consistently rejected claims of its involvement in Nijjar's murder as "absurd."

Pannun and India

• Since the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023, Pannu has repeatedly threatened terrorist attacks against India.
  Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar's killing.
• In September, after Nijjar's murder, Pannun, via a video message, gave an ultimatum to Indo-Canadian Hindus to leave Canada, stating, "Indo-Canadian Hindus, you have repudiated your allegiance to Canada and the Canadian Constitution. Your destination is India. Leave Canada, go to India."

• In October, Pannun warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India should take heed from the Israel-Hamas war, suggesting a comparable "response" could unfold in India.
• Ahead of the ICC World Cup Final in Ahmedabad, he threatened to carry out a terror attack on the Narendra Modi Stadium.
• He also threatened Air India with a global blockade on November 19, the day of the World Cup final, urging Sikhs to avoid flying to India on the same day.

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NIA books Pannun

• Following the November 19 threat, the National Investigation Agency registered a case against him on November 20.
• As per the charge sheet, Pannun was booked under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
• Several sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act were also imposed on Pannun.