USA: Czech authorities extradite the Indian citizen involved in the attempted murder of a Sikh leader

Authorities in the Czech Republic have extradited to the United States an Indian citizen suspected of being involved in a failed plot to murder a US-based Sikh separatist leader. The US Federal Prison Agency reported this via a note published on its website. The suspect, Nikhil Guptais accused by US prosecutors of having planned the murder of the Sikh separatist leader together with an Indian government official Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Gupta traveled from India to Prague in June last year, and was arrested by Czech authorities on a US Justice warrant. Last month, a court in the European country rejected the Indian citizen’s petition against extradition to the United States. As of yesterday, Gupta was detained at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York.

The United States is satisfied, for the moment, with the initiatives taken by the Indian authorities in relation to the alleged plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, leader of the Khalistan movement, which aims to create a sovereign Sikh state in Punjab. The US ambassador in New Delhi said this last month, Eric Garcetti, during an event organized in Washington by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank. Garcetti commented on the fallout to bilateral relations from the assassinations of Sikh separatist leaders in the United States and Canada, which the Canadian government openly blamed on Indian intelligence services last year. “(In the past) I’ve referred to a relationship that could hit some bumps along the way, and this could potentially become the first major dispute in the relationship” between the United States and India, the ambassador admitted, but he added: “So far, knock on wood, I would say that the (US presidential) administration is satisfied with the accountability that we have asked for on this issue, because this is a red line for America and for our citizens.” Garcetti pointed out that the Indian government has established a commission of inquiry into plots to kill Sikh separatist leaders in North America. “We expect (…) a sharing of information, and so far we are satisfied with what they have done. I believe the administration is, although there are still many steps to take,” the ambassador said. Last November, US authorities indicted an Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, for an alleged plot with an Indian official to assassinate Pannun, which however failed. Pannun, who is wanted as a terrorist in India, has dual US and Canadian citizenship.

In recent weeks, the Government of India has asked “once again the Government of Canada to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements with a safe haven and political space”. This is stated in a statement published on May 7 by the spokesperson of the Indian Foreign Ministry, Randhir Jaiswal. The ministry thus expressed its opinion regarding a procession (Nagar Kirtan) in the Canadian city of Mississauga, in the Malton district, in which the “celebration and glorification of violence” would be allowed. “Democratic countries that respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression,” New Delhi argues. “We continue to remain concerned about the safety of our diplomatic representatives in Canada and expect the Government of Canada to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear,” the spokesperson adds.

As reported by the Indian press, during the event, organized by the Ontario Gurdwara Committee (OGC), a committee representing around twenty Sikh places of worship located in Ontario and Quebec, there were flags of Khalistan, the homeland for which groups are fighting Sikh separatists, floats and messages that targeted Indian political figures, including the prime minister, Narendra Modi, pictured behind bars. Speeches were also given by Paramjit Mand and Avtar Singh Pannu, representatives of organizations, respectively Dal Khalsa and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), banned in India.

Only a few days earlier, on April 29, the same ministry summoned Canada’s deputy ambassador to New Delhi, to whom it conveyed the Indian government’s “deep concern and strong protest” over the slogans uttered by Sikh separatist activists (the supporters of Khalistan) during an event attended by the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Concern and protest were expressed “that such disturbing actions were allowed to continue unchecked during the event,” the statement explains, adding that the episode “highlights once again the political space that has been given in Canada to separatism, extremism and violence”. “Their continued expressions not only impact India-Canada relations, but also encourage a climate of violence and crime in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens,” it said in a statement.

The incident in question occurred the previous day in Toronto during a gathering for the Sikh holiday of Vaisakh, or Khalsa Day, organized by the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwaras Council (OSGC). Prime Minister Trudeau gave a speech aimed at the community of Canadians of Sikh culture, which numbers around 800 thousand people, assuring that Canada has diversity and non-discrimination among its strengths. The Canadian organization Cpac – Observatory for Democracy has published a video in which pro-Khalistan chants can be heard in the background. Several times India has protested against demonstrations by these Sikh separatist activists, present mainly abroad, in front of its diplomatic offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, where there are the largest Sikh communities.

Meanwhile, on May 3, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested three Indian citizens for the murder of the Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which occurred on June 18, 2023 in Surrey, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The three – identified as Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar And Karampreet Singh – are all residents of Edmonton, Alberta. Nijiar, leader of the local Sikh community, designated as a terrorist by the Indian government as head of the militant group Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was shot dead by two men with their faces covered while he was in his car, in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. The newspaper “The Washington Post”, based on videos and testimonies, revealed that it was a large and organized operation, in which at least six men participated and in which at least two vehicles were used.

India’s foreign ministry did not issue a statement. The ambassador to Ottawa, Sanjay Verma, had no comment, calling the issue “internal to Canada.” The Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in the aftermath of the arrests, during an interaction with the press at an event in Bhubaneswar, said that the suspects “apparently are Indians who belong to some kind of gang” and that he was waiting for information from the police. On the occasion he reiterated his criticism of Canada for “having allowed organized crime, particularly from Punjab, to operate” and added that a part of the pro-Khalistan people is using Canadian democracy by creating a lobby that has become a pool of votes, as reported by the “Press Trust of India” (“PTI”) agency.

Nijjar’s murder opened a serious diplomatic crisis between India and Canada, whose relations had already been marked in recent years by friction linked to the Sikh issue. On September 18, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, during a parliamentary speech, publicly accused India of being involved in the murder, based on “credible elements” available to Canadian security agencies. On September 19, India’s foreign ministry responded by “categorically” rejecting the allegations and urging Canada to take action “against all anti-India elements operating in its territory.” On September 20, India issued a travel warning to Canada and from the following day the company BLS International suspended the visa service, which was reinstated two months later.

Since October, at the request of India, Canadian diplomatic representation in India has been downsized from 62 to 21 diplomats. “A unilateral withdrawal of diplomatic immunities and privileges is contrary to international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This action taken by India is completely unreasonable and escalates the escalation,” the Canadian Foreign Ministry charged. The Indian one responded by rejecting the accusations of violation of the Convention and attributing responsibility to the other party: “The state of bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India and their continuous interference in our internal affairs justify an equality in mutual presence diplomacy in New Delhi and Ottawa”.

In India, Sikhs make up less than two percent of the population according to the latest census, in 2011, but they are the majority (about 60 percent) in the northern state of Punjab, established in 1966. The “Khalistan” movement, born towards the end of British rule, it grew in Punjab in the Seventies and reached its peak in the Eighties, while since the Nineties it has declined, both due to the repression of the police forces and internal divisions, although not having completely disappeared, especially among expatriates. The borders of Khalistan vary depending on the groups: the land of the Sikhs could include both the Indian and Pakistani Punjab but also parts of other Indian states, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan.

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