US charges Indian government employee in foiled Sikh separatist murder plot

The United States has filed charges against an Indian government employee it says was involved in a failed plot to kill an American citizen, who is a prominent advocate for Sikh separatism, in New York.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Thursday that it filed “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges” against Vikash Yadav.

Another suspect in the case, Nikhil Gupta, was extradited to the US earlier this year to face charges while Yadav remains at large, according to US authorities.

“The defendant [Yadav], an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil for exercising their First Amendment rights,” Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said in a statement.

“The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the US for exercising their constitutionally protected rights.”

The Indian government did not immediately comment on the allegations on Thursday.

It has previously rejected accusations that a government agent was involved in the murder plot as “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated”, according to media reports.

The case revolves around an alleged scheme to kill Sikh American activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun, the legal adviser for the group Sikhs for Justice, is a vocal member of a Sikh campaign for a sovereign state in India’s Punjab region, known as the Khalistan movement.

India views Sikh separatism as a threat to its sovereignty. Over the past few years, the country has been increasingly vocal in demanding that allied countries with sizable Sikh populations — notably Canada, the US and the United Kingdom — do more to crack down on the movement.

Sikhs for Justice is banned in India, and Pannun — a vocal critic of Indian government policies — has been accused (PDF) by New Delhi of being “involved in terrorism”.

But Sikh community leaders have accused India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, of trying to stifle dissent, both in India and abroad.

In the hours before Thursday’s charges were announced, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), a nonprofit, called on Washington to take “urgent action” to address a campaign of “transnational repression”.

“In the United States, Sikh Americans and other diaspora communities continue to face the threat of transnational repression,” the group said in a statement.

“Whether it be surveillance, intimidation, or targeted violence, foreign governments have sought to stifle free speech and political dissent within our borders. This is unacceptable in a country that stands for freedom and human rights.”

‘Freedom of expression’

In a statement on Thursday evening, Sikhs for Justice — Pannun’s group — said the new US indictment demonstrated Washington’s “commitment … to protect the life, liberty and freedom of expression of the US Citizen at home and abroad”.

The organisation promised to continue to advocate for Khalistan, including by organising non-binding votes in the Sikh diaspora on the question of a sovereign state in Punjab.

“Despite India’s use of violence against pro Khalistan Sikhs, [Sikhs for Justice] is committed to democratically resolve the dispute over the sovereignty of Indian occupied Punjab through the means of Referendum,” the statement said.

The US State Department said earlier this week that an Indian committee of inquiry, tasked with investigating the foiled murder plot, had travelled to Washington, DC, to discuss the case and receive an update from American officials.

“India has informed the United States they are continuing their efforts to investigate other linkages of the former government employee and will determine follow-up steps, as necessary,” the department said on Tuesday.

The new charges in the US case come just days after the Canadian government said it had uncovered “clear and compelling evidence” that Indian government agents were involved in activities that threatened public safety in Canada.

“This includes clandestine information-gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.

India-Canada relations have been tense since September 2023, when Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence to link Indian government agents to the assassination of a Canadian Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, earlier that year.

Nijjar, who served as president of a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, where he was killed, also advocated for Khalistan and had been dubbed a “terrorist” by New Delhi.

India has rejected the allegations it was involved in Nijjar’s killing, accusing Trudeau of harbouring a vendetta against the country.

“There is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, as the two countries announced they were expelling their respective diplomats amid the worsening row.

The ministry also said it “reserves the right to take further steps” against Canada.