Premi Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/29/india-us-assassination-plot-sikh-pannun/ U.S. prosecutors allege assassination plot of Sikh separatist directed by Indian government employee By Ellen Nakashima , Gerry Shih and Amanda Coletta Updated November 29, 2023 at 1:22 p.m. EST|Published November 29, 2023 at 5:24 a.m. EST Demonstrators gather outside the Indian Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 25 to protest the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters) Listen Share Comment Add to your saved stories Save An Indian government employee who described himself as a “senior field officer” responsible for intelligence ordered the assassination of a Sikh separatist in New York City in May, U.S. prosecutors alleged Wednesday. The court filing heightens scrutiny of India’s spy services following similar allegations made by Canadian authorities in September. The government employee, who was not named in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hit man to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by U.S. authorities, according to prosecutors. The court filing did not name the victim, but senior Biden administration officials say the target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for the New York-based Sikhs for Justice, a group that advocates the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan within India. The scheme was foiled in June by the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. ... CIA Director William J. Burns flew to India in August and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines followed in October, said the officials, who like others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. The Justice Department said Wednesday that the unnamed Indian government employee agreed, in a deal brokered by Gupta, to pay $100,000 to a purported hit man who was in fact an undercover U.S. law enforcement officer. On June 19, one day after Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Canada, Gupta told the purported hit man to proceed with the New York murder, explaining that both Sikhs were on the same list of targets, U.S. prosecutors said. ... The charges against Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in late June pending extradition to the United States, build on a bare-bones indictment, filed in mid-June and unsealed in July. That filing alleged that Gupta coordinated a $15,000 advance payment to the purported hit man’s associate. ... The indictment contains chilling details, alleging that the Indian government employee and Gupta had a sweeping plan to kill “so many targets,” as Gupta put it, in Canada and the United States. The operations would be directed from India. Besides the target in New York, at least one other was in California and three were in Canada, according to the filing. Prosecutors reference the killing of Nijjar in Canada. On June 12, on a call with a DEA informant, Gupta stated that there was a “big target” in Canada, the indictment says. On June 18, masked gunmen murdered Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, the indictment noted 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GurjantGnostic Posted December 2, 2023 Report Share Posted December 2, 2023 On 11/29/2023 at 11:41 AM, Premi said: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/29/india-us-assassination-plot-sikh-pannun/ U.S. prosecutors allege assassination plot of Sikh separatist directed by Indian government employee By Ellen Nakashima , Gerry Shih and Amanda Coletta Updated November 29, 2023 at 1:22 p.m. EST|Published November 29, 2023 at 5:24 a.m. EST Demonstrators gather outside the Indian Consulate in Toronto on Sept. 25 to protest the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters) Listen Share Comment Add to your saved stories Save An Indian government employee who described himself as a “senior field officer” responsible for intelligence ordered the assassination of a Sikh separatist in New York City in May, U.S. prosecutors alleged Wednesday. The court filing heightens scrutiny of India’s spy services following similar allegations made by Canadian authorities in September. The government employee, who was not named in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hit man to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by U.S. authorities, according to prosecutors. The court filing did not name the victim, but senior Biden administration officials say the target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for the New York-based Sikhs for Justice, a group that advocates the creation of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan within India. The scheme was foiled in June by the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. ... CIA Director William J. Burns flew to India in August and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines followed in October, said the officials, who like others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. The Justice Department said Wednesday that the unnamed Indian government employee agreed, in a deal brokered by Gupta, to pay $100,000 to a purported hit man who was in fact an undercover U.S. law enforcement officer. On June 19, one day after Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Canada, Gupta told the purported hit man to proceed with the New York murder, explaining that both Sikhs were on the same list of targets, U.S. prosecutors said. ... The charges against Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in late June pending extradition to the United States, build on a bare-bones indictment, filed in mid-June and unsealed in July. That filing alleged that Gupta coordinated a $15,000 advance payment to the purported hit man’s associate. ... The indictment contains chilling details, alleging that the Indian government employee and Gupta had a sweeping plan to kill “so many targets,” as Gupta put it, in Canada and the United States. The operations would be directed from India. Besides the target in New York, at least one other was in California and three were in Canada, according to the filing. Prosecutors reference the killing of Nijjar in Canada. On June 12, on a call with a DEA informant, Gupta stated that there was a “big target” in Canada, the indictment says. On June 18, masked gunmen murdered Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, the indictment noted There are times when one can truly love America. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premi Posted December 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2023 6 minutes ago, GurjantGnostic said: There are times when one can truly love America. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.