BackIndia-Canada row: FBI warned Sikhs in US about death threats after Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder, reports says
The US FBI warned Sikhs about death threats following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June
PremiumAfter the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June this year outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, the FBI agents visited several Sikh people in California this summer with an alarming message: Their lives were also at risk, according to a report by The Intercept.
Pritpal Singh, a US citizen and coordinator for the American Sikh Caucus Committee told The Intercept that he and two other Sikh Americans received calls and visits from the FBI after Nijjar's death.
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Sukhman Dhami, co-ordinator of Ensaaf, a California-based nonprofit group said Sikhs throughout the US received police warnings about political threats.
The relationship between Canada and India reached its lowest point in recent history when Trudeau said there were “credible allegations" of Indian involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a K,halistani terrorist, in June.
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On Thursday a report by the CTV News claimed that India’s involvement in the killing is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally — without saying which one.
The “Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance is made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
India, which has called the allegations “absurd," also has stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff. Both countries have expelled some top diplomats.
Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.
Nijjar was designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020 and is wanted on charges of terrorism and sedition.
On Saturday, India's top investigation agency confiscated the properties of a prominent Sikh separatist and close ally of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer believed to be based in Canada, was designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020 and is wanted on charges of terrorism and sedition.
He is also the founder of the US-based group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The group, which has been banned by India, has been a vocal advocate for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan.
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