Prominent Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun revealed on Tuesday that he has been alerted by the FBI and the RCMP about a fresh and credible threat to his life. This warning comes amidst ongoing legal proceedings against an individual involved in a 2023 assassination plot targeting Pannun.
Pannun, serving as the general counsel for Sikhs For Justice, disclosed that FBI agents advised him on August 12 to refrain from traveling until the threat is resolved. Additionally, they instructed him to inform the agency in advance of any travel plans. He also received a warning from the RCMP via phone on the same day. However, neither agency provided specific details about the nature of the threat. Requests for comments from both entities remain unanswered.
In the United States, a “duty to warn” protocol mandates intelligence and law enforcement agencies to notify individuals upon discovering credible and specific threats of murder, severe bodily harm, or kidnapping against them.
Sikhs for Justice has been actively organizing referendums across the Sikh diaspora, advocating for an independent nation-state called Khalistan. Recently, a referendum was conducted in Indianapolis, with another scheduled for Edmonton on October 18, arousing disapproval from the Indian government.
Inderjeet Singh Gosal, now leading the Sikhs for Justice movement in Canada following the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023, received a threat warning on August 14. Gosal, appointed by Pannun to succeed Nijjar, who was fatally shot in a Sikh temple parking lot in Surrey, B.C., on June 18, 2023.
Regarding the Nijjar case, four Indian nationals are awaiting trial for their alleged involvement in the killing after being apprehended in Edmonton and Ontario in the spring of 2024. Two individuals in California face federal charges for ordering the killing, but they are not in U.S. custody.
In a separate development, Nikhil Gupta from India is awaiting sentencing on November 20 in a Manhattan federal court. Gupta pleaded guilty earlier this year for his role in a 2023 assassination plot against Pannun, directed by an Indian government official. The scheme was intercepted when Gupta unknowingly interacted with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman. Gupta admitted to charges including murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Federal guidelines suggest a minimum of twenty years in prison for Gupta.
Pannun, a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen, expressed his resilience in the face of these threats during a phone interview on Tuesday. He urged both the U.S. and Canadian governments to address the threats to their sovereignty posed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. Pannun emphasized that the continued threats only strengthen his resolve and conviction in his activism, stating, “I’m going to continue, even at the cost of a bullet.”
