Apparently by contract killer
USA: India wanted to kill Sikh separatists in New York
November 29, 2023, 8:50 p.m
The alleged murder of a Sikh separatist in Canada by the Indian state sparked a crisis between the two countries this summer. The US then accused New Delhi of also targeting a US citizen. Now there are charges against a 52-year-old.
After a similar case in Canada, the US justice system has accused India of attempting to murder a Sikh separatist in the USA. The federal prosecutor’s office in New York published an indictment against an Indian citizen who is said to have hired a suspected contract killer together with an Indian government official. According to the indictment, he was supposed to murder a Sikh separatist living in New York. The alleged hitman was actually an undercover agent for the US police.
According to the US Department of Justice, the now accused Nikhil G. was arrested in the Czech Republic in the summer in cooperation with the US authorities. The 52-year-old is charged with contract murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Each of these charges carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
In mid-June, the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada made international headlines. The Canadian citizen who campaigned for the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India was found shot to death in the parking lot of a temple in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September that there was “credible evidence” of a “possible connection between Indian government officials and the murder.” This caused great tension between the governments of both countries, and Canada expelled an Indian diplomat.
New Delhi denied the allegations and suspended processing visa applications for Canadians. India accuses Canada of turning a blind eye to the activities of radical Sikh nationalists who advocate independence from India.
Separatists probably knew each other
According to the US justice system, Nijjar, who was murdered at the time, had connections to the Sikh separatist living in New York – an unnamed US citizen with Indian roots – who, according to the indictment, was also supposed to be killed.
One day after Nijjar’s murder, the now accused Nikhil G. told the alleged contract killer that it was now “no longer necessary” to wait before murdering the man living in New York. The contract killer was supposed to receive $100,000 (around 91,000 euros) for the crime. According to the indictment, he received a first installment of $15,000 at the beginning of June.
The Indian government official believed to be behind the murder plot is not named in the US indictment. According to the New York prosecutor’s office, he describes himself as a high-ranking government official with responsibility for “security management” and intelligence activities. The accused G., in turn, is said to be involved in drug and weapons smuggling.
The Financial Times had already reported on the case last week. The target of the murder plot was the Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. A US government representative subsequently said the allegations were being taken “extremely seriously”. The case has been raised with the Indian government.
The Indian state of Punjab, where about 58 percent of the population is Sikh and 39 percent Hindu, was rocked by a violent independence movement in the 1980s and 1990s. Thousands of people were killed. Today, the most vocal separatists live in the Indian diaspora.