Modi govt sued in US court over alleged plot that killed Sikh leader

The New York based attorney and General Counsel of pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has filed a civil lawsuit in the US Federal District Court against the Government of India and senior Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) officials for their “unprecedented attempt to assassinate a US citizen on US soil”.

The legal action announcement was made at a global press conference addressed by the Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and his lawyers Matthew Borden, Partner & co-founder BraunHagey & Borden LLP and Richard Rogers, Partner at Global Diligence LLP.

The law action at United States District Court, New York, by Pannun and his lawyers against the Indian govt and senior officials of Indian intelligence agency – namely, Ajit Doval, Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav and Nikhil Gupta.

The complaint alleges that senior officials at India’s spy agency RAW, who report directly to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, engaged weapons trafficker and RAW agent Nikhil Gupta to hire assassins in the US to murder Pannun in New York.

According to the complaint, the plot was part of a broader effort to kill prominent Sikh activists who advocate for the right to self-determination for Sikh people over the Indian region of Punjab, critically speak against the persecution of religious minorities, and condemn human rights abuses by the regime of Prime Minister Modi.

Attorney Pannun’s murder was supposed to occur around the same time as India’s (successful) assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a close ally of Pannun and Khalistan Referendum Canada chapter head – in Canada on June 18, 2023.

The US Department of Justice has indicted Gupta in New York on “murder for hire” charges for the plot targeting Pannun, while Canada has recently arrested and charged four Indian nationals with first-degree murder for killing Nijjar.

“The Government of India denies responsibility [for the hit it ordered on Mr. Pannun],” the complaint alleges, even as Prime Minister Modi boasted at a political rally “that ‘even India’s enemies know this is Modi, this is the new India, it can come into your home and kill you.’”

“This case is about holding India accountable for its crime of transnational repression against pro Khalistan Sikhs. The Government of India cannot stop the Khalistan Referendum through threats and intimidation. I will continue to organize the global Khalistan Referendum voting for liberation of Punjab from India. And if the cost of independence is death, I am ready to face it. India tried to kill me for organising the Khalistan Referendum. I am taking legal action to hold the Modi govt and RAW officers accountable for their involvement in transnational terrorism against Sikhs at home and abroad,” said Mr. Pannun upon the filing of his lawsuit.

According to Richard J. Rogers, Pannun’s international lawyer: “India has been trying to silence Mr. Pannun for years – initially by abusing Interpol’s red notice system by falsifying evidence against him, and now by abusing its friendship with the U.S. by hiring assassins to kill him. Pannun runs Khalistan Referendum campaign. It’s a peaceful campaign and involves no terrorism or guns or violence. India has showed no proofs Pannun has ever broken the law. India’s murder plot is a worrying trend, targeting Sikhs.”

The case states that in November 2023, U.S. Department of Justice filed indictment against an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, on the charges of committing and conspiring to commit “Murder For Hire” of a U.S. Citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on U.S. soil. According to the U.S. DOJ indictment, acting on behalf of the Indian Government officials, Gupta attempted to orchestrate the assassination of attorney Pannun for his political opinion on Khalistan and his activism—notably, promotion of the global Khalistan Referendum.