Sikh separatist claims Indian 'spy network' operates in US and Canada
New York: Canada and the U.S. must get tougher on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for trying to silence dissidents on foreign soil, a controversial Sikh separatist who was the target of an alleged India-led murder plot said in an interview.
The U.S. Justice Department has unsealed indictments against two Indian nationals in connection with an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, in New York. The two Indian accused included an ex-government official, who the indictment said worked as an intelligence officer at the time and had orchestrated the assassination plan.
Pannun told Reuters earlier this month that the Modi government should not be allowed to conduct hostile activity in foreign countries and said India's consulates in the U.S. and Canada were running a "spy network", although he did not provide any proof.
The U.S. and Canada "need to put their foot down that regimes like Modi's...should not be allowed to come to America or Canada, challenge their sovereignty and get away with it. They need to put their foot down and close (the consulates) permanently," he said.
Pannun did not elaborate on the alleged spy network. Similar assertions have been made by Sikh activists in America and Canada.
India's foreign ministry did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters regarding Pannun's allegations. India, where Pannun was born, has labelled him a terrorist since 2020.
Authorities in the U.S. and Canada declined comment on Pannun's allegations.
The U.S. and Canada have alleged Indian agents were involved in assassination plots in their countries last year against campaigners for 'Khalistan', a Sikh homeland they want carved out of India's Punjab state where Sikh militancy in the 1980s and 1990s killed thousands of people.
India has denied involvement in any of the plots.
The allegations have damaged India's ties with Canada and tested relations between Washington and New Delhi.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India's government of involvement in the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader in Canada. In May, Canadian police arrested and charged four Indian men for the murder. They are yet to be tried.