Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an investigation into allegations that the Indian government was involved in assassination plots in the US and Canada on Friday.
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested there was a “potential link” between the government of India and the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was an Indian-born Canadian citizen who was murdered outside his Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar advocated for the creation of “Khalistan,” a majority-Sikh separatist state in India’s Punjab region. India’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations.
In late November, US prosecutors charged Indian government employee Nikhil Gupta with conspiracy to murder pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The conspiracy was apparently funded by an Indian government agency. Gupta allegedly paid $100,000 to an undercover DEA agent for Pannun’s murder. While Pannun was not explicitly named in the assassin’s indictment, AP reported that Pannun’s address was given as the address of the person to be assassinated.
According to US Attorney Damien Williams, Pannun “has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the [Pannun] and his separatist organization from India.” Gupta told the undercover DEA agent the day after Nijjar’s killing in Canada that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets.” HRW reports that the Indian government considered Nijjar a terrorist and still considers Pannun a terrorist.
Indian law largely shields government officials and employees from liability for extrajudicial killings. Section 197 of India’s criminal procedure code requires either state or central government approval before a public servant can be prosecuted for acts taken in their official capacity. HRW reports that prosecutions against public servants and other employees are seldom approved by the national or state governments.
There is currently an ongoing referendum organized by the US-based advocacy group Sikhs for Justice asking whether Punjab should be an independent country. The group considers Punjab to be occupied by the Indian government.
In addition to extraterritorial assassinations, the Washington Post reported Sunday that the Indian government had links to ‘The Disinfo Lab‘ a group that claims there is a global conspiracy led by global Islamic groups and billionaire George Soros to undermine India. The group’s stated aim is to “uncover anti-India disinformation.” According to the Washington Post, the group actually “is run by an Indian intelligence officer to research and discredit foreign critics of the Modi government.” The group is critical of Sikh separatists.
