US thwarts assassination attempt on Khalistani Pannun, warns India for alleged link to attack: Report

U.S. authorities have thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the Modi government was involved, news daily Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

ET Online has not verified these claims independently.

The FT report says that the US protest was issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington in June.


The FT report said that the target of the plot was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen who is general counsel for Sikhs for Justice. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against 'listed individual terrorist' Pannun of the SFJ over his latest viral video threatening the passengers flying in Air India and the airlines with a global blockade and closure of its operations from November 19. The anti-terror agency made the announcement on Monday.

The report comes two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in a Vancouver suburb. The US had shared the information on the plot with some of its allies on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim India has rejected. Trudeau’s accusation sparked outrage from the Indian government.

Officials forced Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff in New Delhi and also suspended visa services for Canadians.

White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Indian officials expressed "surprise and concern" when they were informed about the incident.

“We are treating this issue with utmost seriousness, and it has been raised by the U.S. government with the Indian government, including at the senior-most levels," Watson said.

"They stated that activity of this nature was not their policy ... We understand the Indian government is further investigating this issue and will have more to say about it in the coming days. We have conveyed our expectation that anyone deemed responsible should be held accountable,” she said.

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said when asked about the FT report that Washington had shared "some inputs" that were being "examined by "relevant departments."

Bagchi said the inputs pertained to the "nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others."

"India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well," he said.