More arrests come to light in plot to assassinate Indian Sikh leader

In a major development, Indian and Canadian intelligence officers have held several meetings to share information as more arrests come to light that may point to a previously unknown plot to kill an Indian Sikh leader on North American soil. Bloomberg mentionted.

According to the publication, five men were arrested on firearms charges on Nov. 3, 2023, near Brampton, Ontario, a day before the son of a prominent member of the Sikh independence movement was to be married in the Toronto-area city.

Eminent personalities, including New York-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, were to attend the event.

Among those arrested was Amandeep Singh, who was later charged with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh leader who was killed in British Columbia in June 2023.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Narendra Modi-led New Delhi government of orchestrating the assassination.

Intelligence chiefs from India and Canada recently met to share evidence, people familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The new information prompted more personnel to leave India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the people said.

The departures signal a clean-up of India’s security regime and follow the earlier departure of an officer who India described as a rogue agent involved in a botched plot in New York to kill Panun.

The US is separately urging India to prosecute the officials responsible and reform its security.

It is pertinent to mention here that the five men have not been charged with conspiring to kill anyone at the wedding and that the weapons charges have not been proven in court.

Police and prosecutors in Ontario declined to comment as the legal process is still ongoing.

But the timing of the arrests — with two traffic stops that police say revealed illegal guns and ammunition in the men’s vehicles — and the fact that Pannun was expected to attend the event raise the possibility that he was targeted, the report said.

Pannun eventually turned down the wedding invitation at the last minute. In an interview, he expressed his dismay at the Canadian authorities’ silence on the matter.

“By not disclosing or failing to disclose, they are letting Indian agents operate with impunity in Canada. They feel there are no consequences for the crimes they commit,” he said.