Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an attorney in New York and the General Counsel for the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has sued the Indian government and high-level officials from the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) in the U.S. Federal District Court. According to the lawsuit, there was a “unprecedented attempt to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil.”
The news was shared at a world press conference with Pannun and his legal team. Matthew Borden, partner and co-founder of BraunHagey & Borden LLP, and Richard Rogers, partner at world Diligence LLP, were also there. The lawsuit is aimed at top Indian officials such as Ajit Doval, Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav, and Nikhil Gupta.
The complaint describes a supposed plot involving RAW agents, who work directly for Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister. It says that they hired Nikhil Gupta, a weapons dealer and RAW spy, to find killers in New York to kill Pannun. The plan failed when the hired killers were found to be government agents working undercover.
The lawsuit says that this plan to kill famous Sikh activists was part of a larger plan to get rid of them for supporting Punjabi self-determination and speaking out against the Modi regime’s violations of human rights. Notably, Pannun’s possible murder was said to have happened at the same time as the death in Canada on June 18, 2023, of close friend and Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Gupta has been charged with “murder for hire” in connection with the plan to kill Pannun by the U.S. Department of Justice. Canada has also arrested and charged four Indian citizens with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Nijjar.
In the complaint, it is said that the Indian government rejects having any part in the plot against Pannun. Prime Minister Modi made a controversial comment at a political gathering in which he bragged about India’s ability to fight back. He said, “Even India’s enemies know this is Modi, this is the new India; it can come into your home and kill you.”
A lawyer named Pannun said, “This case is about holding India responsible for the crime of transnational repression against pro-Khalistan Sikhs.” The Indian government can’t stop the Khalistan Referendum by scaring people or making threats. I will keep planning the world Khalistan Referendum to free Punjab from Indian rule. Death is the price I’m willing to pay for freedom. I was threatened with death in India for planning the Khalistan Referendum, and I am now going to court to hold the Modi government and RAW officials responsible for their part in international terrorism against Sikhs at home and abroad.
This lawsuit is a turning point in the ongoing conflict surrounding the Khalistan movement. It also brings up important issues of international law, acts supported by the government, and the rights of political activists.