Why America and Canada failed to stop the killing of Sikh separatist leader despite intelligence information?
US prosecutors say they have charged an Indian national in an alleged plot to kill at least four Sikh separatist leaders in the US and Canada. On the other hand, the national security spokesman in the White House has termed India as a regional partner and termed these allegations as serious.
These allegations have also been linked to the murder of a Sikh Canadian citizen in Canada this year. In this whole situation, it is also being questioned that what information did the US have about this plan before the killing of this citizen.
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen arrested on US request in the Czech Republic, is accused of planning to kill an American citizen. It is being told that their target was Guru Patwant Singh Pannu, a Canadian dual citizen.
In September this year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeeb Singh Najar, which India denied.
When the Canadian prime minister made the accusation, his close ally, the United States, was silent. US officials have expressed concerns but have not been vocal with Justin Trudeau or directly criticized India.
We now know that US officials were aware of the investigation into the project weeks before the Canadian Prime Minister publicly made the allegation after the G20 summit in India.
A senior US official has confirmed that US President Joe Biden had raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20.
Najar’s killing was not the only plan in Canada
US prosecutors did not name the target of the scheme. However, according to the American media, this alleged plan was to kill Guru Patwant Singh Pannu, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, who is a member of a US-based Sikh separatist group.
While talking to the media on this alleged plan, Pannu said, “Is India prepared for the consequences of using cross-border terrorism?”
“Whoever was trying to kill me, be it Indian diplomats or Indian RAW (intelligence) agents, will face the law,” he added.
Sikhs are a minority in India, constituting two percent of its population. Some of its groups are part of the ‘Khalistan’ movement, which calls for a separate country in India.
The demand intensified in the 1980s with an armed uprising that was later crushed and left thousands dead. However, some groups of Sikhs abroad are still part of the Khalistan movement.
Prior to the alleged assassination plot in the US, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had hinted at undisclosed ‘corroborative evidence’ linking the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia in June to the Indian government. However, India has denied any role in the killing.
Trudeau said India would have to take the charges seriously when the indictment was handed down on Wednesday.
India had termed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation as ‘absurd’, further straining relations between the two countries and increasing pressure on Justin Trudeau to produce evidence to back up his claims. had gone.
But American experts say that their claims have been given weight by the indictment brought by the United States.
Stephanie Caron, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the evidence presented by the United States is stronger than the allegations made by Justin Trudeau.
“This makes it clear that there was a conspiracy to kill four people, three (to kill) in Canada,” he told the media. The killing of Najar was not the only one (mansuna).
Was there intelligence that could be acted upon?
Wednesday’s indictment has raised new questions about the threats to Hardeeb Singh Najar’s life.
It is reported that Hardeeb Singh was killed shortly after being informed by Canadian law enforcement agencies that his life was in danger.
But it is not clear how much of this information was provided by US intelligence from its ‘undercover operations’.
Wesley Wark, a senior research fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation, told the Media: “It seems very unlikely to me that the information that the FBI had was not immediately shared with the Canadian authorities.”
He says that American and Canadian law enforcement agencies have a very “close” relationship.
He said that it may be that he did not have intelligence on the basis of which he would have taken any action in the case of Hardeeb Singh Najar as compared to Guru Patwant Singh Pannu.
But why did Canada fail to stop the murders like the United States? “I think it’s too early to assume that there was any major lapse in Canadian law enforcement or intelligence in trying to protect Najjar,” he said.
Wesley Wark says the reality may be far more terrifying than that. The indictment in the United States and the accusations of the Canadian Prime Minister together suggest that there may have been multiple groups to kill, but one of them could not be identified and succeeded in their ambitions.
Indian national arrested in alleged plot to kill Sikh leader: ‘Hitman’ who was actually US agent
Arrested Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta alias ‘Nick’ is accused of trying to get the services of a hitman (hired killer) for this murder for one hundred thousand US dollars.
U.S. prosecutors say the alleged hitman was actually an “undercover” federal agent, meaning he worked secretly for a U.S. law enforcement agency.
Nikhil Gupta, 52, is being held in a prison in the Czech Republic pending extradition to the United States. He could be sentenced to 20 years in prison if convicted by prosecutors.
Nikhil was reportedly contacted directly by an Indian government official. The Indian official has not been named or charged in the documents.
The White House says it has raised the issue of the alleged assassination plot with India at the highest level, which Indian officials have expressed “surprise and concern”.
A senior US administration official has said that President Joe Biden was so concerned about the issue that he asked top US intelligence officials, including CIA Director William Burns and Director of National Intelligence Everel Haines, to talk to India. sent for
Meanwhile, the Indian government has said that they are investigating the matter.
Prosecutors have said that Nikhil Gupta was recruited in May by an Indian government employee whom he met in Delhi and discussed the potential project there, while Gupta sometimes voiced him in Hindi. Notices were sent.
According to prosecutors, Gupta was assured that a pending criminal case against him in India had been disposed of and now “no one from the Gujarat police would call him.” Gupta met the Deputy Commissioner of Gujarat. was also offered.
According to the prosecutors, the official of the Indian government allegedly said that we are ready to pay one and a half million dollars. According to the quality of work, this offer will go up further.
According to the indictment, Gupta allegedly suggested that he would pose as a client to the target so that he could “lure them to a place where they could be killed more easily.”
It says that he was supposed to meet a hitman in New York City, but then he met an undercover agent who offered to kill him for $100,000.
According to the US authorities, initially Gupta allegedly contacted a criminal who was actually an informant of the drug enforcement agency ‘DEA’. The informant put them in touch with Hitman, who was an undercover DEA agent.
According to the documents of the American authorities, Gupta asked for an advance of 100,000 dollars, but the Indian official refused it. Gupta reportedly said that his colleague in New York did not have the money to advance the hitman, so he should be “paid here in Delhi.”
According to the prosecutor, on June 9, the Indian official sent a message to Gupta saying, “Brother.” Payment will be made today. We mobilize the team and work on the current weekly holiday.” Gupta sent a message to the undercover agent that the ‘parcel’ would be received by noon. Thus, an advance payment of 15 thousand dollars was allegedly made to the agent for this murder.
The indictment documents include a photo of the alleged payment. Gupta reported the payment to an Indian government official who sent a message saying ‘ok bhai ji’.
India, US instruct not to kill during diplomatic meetings
Pannu was also in touch with Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Najar, who was killed by a masked gunman in Canada in June.
After Najar’s murder, Gupta was allegedly sent a video by the Indian official showing Najar’s ‘bloody body in his car’.
According to the indictment, the Indian official then sent the address of the second target to Gupta.
Gupta reportedly told the undercover agent that “Najjar was also among the targets” and “we have several targets”.
After Najar’s murder, he reportedly said, “There is no need to wait any longer.” An Indian official reportedly shared a message with Gupta saying, “This is now a priority.”
According to the US prosecutor, Gupta allegedly instructed the undercover agent that the killing should not take place during high-level diplomatic meetings and contacts between the US and India.
Gupta had also explained to the ‘hitman’ that the target was a social activist whose death could lead to protests and lead to ‘political issues’.
Prosecutors say Gupta repeatedly told a DEA informant and undercover agent that his co-planners from India had resources and were monitoring him.
Gupta reportedly said that the killer’s life would be changed by the target because “we have bigger things to do.” Two to three jobs every month.
On June 29, Gupta sent a message to the undercover agent that we had intelligence that the target had returned to his home and would be out today anyway. The agent was told to shoot the post-murder scenes if possible.
On June 30, Gupta left India for the Czech Republic, where he was arrested at the request of the United States. His transfer to the US is currently pending.
DEA has played an important role in thwarting this alleged plan.
Administrator Dean Milgram said in a statement that a foreign government official allegedly “recruited an international narcotics trafficker to kill a US citizen on US soil that was thwarted by the DEA.”
“I am grateful that my office and our law enforcement partners foiled this,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate attempts to kill American citizens on American soil. “We will thwart, investigate and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad.”