Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who was the target of a foiled 2023 assassination plot allegedly directed by an ex-Indian intelligence official, is facing new threats to his life that are being investigated by the FBI, Pannun told CBS News on Thursday.
Pannun, a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that FBI agents paid a visit to his New York City home earlier in the day to warn him about what he called an “imminent threat to my life.”
On Oct. 18, his organization, Sikhs for Justice, plans to hold a non-binding referendum in Edmonton, Canada, on whether the northern Indian province of Punjab should be declared independent and re-named “Khalistan.” Sikhs have been invited to vote on the measure.
Pannun said in a statement that the question is not whether he “survives another assassination plot.” Instead, it’s whether the right of Sikh people to self-determination “can be stopped through assassination threats.”
It cannot,” he said.
FBI agents told Pannun they are investigating leads and said the threat is connected to potential travel to Canada to participate in the referendum but did not provide him with any further information.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan previously charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta and former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav with plotting to assassinate Pannun, a dual American and Canadian citizen.
Gupta, who in February pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, is set to be sentenced in November, and Pannun is expected to speak at the sentencing.
The alleged plot targeting Pannun unfolded at the same time that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another prominent Sikh separatist and friend of Pannun, was gunned down and killed in June 2023 by assassins outside his gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
In September 2023, Canadian officials said they had evidence linking his killing to Indian government agents, in violation of Canada’s sovereignty.
India has previously denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing and the attempt on Pannun’s life. It has labeled Sikh separatists as “terrorists” and claims they represent threats to India’s security.
This is not the first time American or Canadian law enforcement officials have warned Pannun of possible credible threats this year. Pannun said that in August and September, he was contacted by both the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about other separate threats.
He said the warnings by law enforcement started not long after federal prosecutors in Los Angeles in July announced criminal charges against the prominent leader and eight associates of the Indian organized criminal group known as “Bishnoi,” tying them to Nijjar’s 2023 assassination.
Bishnoi was arrested by Indian authorities in 2015. Despite this, the indictment says he continued to run a global crime syndicate from his prison cell.
Bishnoi’s childhood friend, Satinderjit Singh Brar, allegedly directed the group’s North American operations and is also accused in the indictment of ordering the assassination, the indictment said.
