NEW YORK: The New York based attorney and General Counsel of pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, through his attorneys has filed a lawsuit in the US Federal District Court against the Government of India and senior Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officials for their “unparalleled attempt to assassinate a US citizen on American soil”.
The legal action announcement was made at a news conference addressed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and his lawyers Matthew Borden, Partner and co-founder BraunHagey and Borden LLP and Richard Rogers, Partner at Global Diligence LLP. The law action at US District Court, New York, by Pannun and his attorneys against the Indian government and senior officials of Indian intelligence agency — namely, Samant Goel, Ajit Doval, Nikhil Gupta and Vikram Yadav.
The complaint says that senior officials at India’s intelligence agency RAW, which report directly to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, engaged arms trafficker and RAW agent Nikhil Gupta to hire assassins in the United States to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. This plot was foiled when the hitmen Gupta hired turned out to be undercover federal agents.
The complaint says that the plot was part of a broader effort to kill key Sikh activists who advocate for the right to self-determination for Sikhs over the Indian region of Punjab, critically speak against the persecution of religious minorities, and denounce human rights abuses by the regime of Modi.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s murder was supposed to occur around the same time as New Delhi’s (successful) assassination of prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar — a close ally and friend of Pannun and Khalistan Referendum Canada chapter leader in Canada on June 18, 2023.
The US Department of Justice has indicted Nikhil Gupta in New York on “murder for hire” charges for the plot targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, while Canada has recently apprehended and charged four Indian citizens with first-degree murder for killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“This case is regarding holding India answerable for its crime of transnational repression against pro Khalistan Sikhs. New Delhi cannot stop the Khalistan Referendum through intimidation and threats. I will continue to organize the international Khalistan Referendum voting for liberation of Punjab from New Delhi. And if the cost of independence and freedom is death, I am ready to face it. India attempted to kill me for organizing the Khalistan Referendum. I am taking legal action to hold the Modi’s government and RAW officers answerable for their involvement in transnational terrorism against Sikh people at home and abroad,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun upon the filing of his lawsuit.
According to Richard J Rogers, Pannun’s lawyer: “India has been attempting to silence Pannun for years — initially by abusing Interpol’s red notice system by fabricating evidence against him, and now by abusing its friendship with America by hiring assassins to kill Pannun. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun runs Khalistan Referendum campaign. It is a peaceful campaign and involves no guns, or terrorism or violence. Indian government has showed no proofs Pannun has ever broken the law. India’s murder plot is a very worrying trend, targeting Sikh community.”
