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Pannun says FBI warned him of a threat to his life before Edmonton Khalistan vote
The Sikhs for Justice leader says agents served a 'duty to warn' notice on 15 October, ahead of his planned trip to Canada for Sunday's non-binding referendum.
Key points
- Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says FBI agents gave him a 'duty to warn' notice on 15 October.
- He plans to attend a non-binding referendum in Edmonton on Sunday, 18 October.
- An Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, pleaded guilty in February to plotting to kill him.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the New York-based lawyer who leads the Sikhs for Justice group, says the FBI has warned him of an “imminent threat” to his life days before he is due to travel to Canada for a Khalistan referendum.
Pannun, who holds US and Canadian citizenship, said FBI agents came to his home in New York and served him a “duty to warn” notice on 15 October in connection with his planned trip. He said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had also warned him of threats to his life and to his home in Ontario. Neither agency has commented publicly.
The vote, organised by Sikhs for Justice in Edmonton on Sunday, 18 October, is non-binding. It asks whether Punjab should become an independent state called Khalistan. The group says other organisers of the referendum in Canada have received similar warnings in recent months.
Pannun used the warning to question Canada’s renewed engagement with India under Prime Minister Mark Carney, including talks on trade and security. He asked how Canada could “claim progress on security cooperation with India” while organisers were being warned.
The Gupta case
Pannun has been a target before. In February, Nikhil Gupta, a 54-year-old Indian national, pleaded guilty in a US federal court to plotting to have him killed in New York. Gupta admitted to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
US prosecutors say he acted on the instructions of Vikash Yadav, whom they describe as an Indian government employee. The man Gupta approached to arrange the killing was working with US law enforcement, and the plot was stopped before anyone was hurt. India has denied any involvement in violence against Sikh activists abroad.
New Delhi has not responded to Pannun’s latest claim.