Sikh separatist claims Indian 'spy network' operates in US and Canada

Canada and the US must get tougher on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for trying to silence dissidents on foreign soil, a controversial Sikh separatist who was the target of an alleged India-led murder plot said in an interview.

The US Justice Department has unsealed indictments against two Indian nationals in connection with an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, in New York. The two Indian accused included an ex-government official, who the indictment said worked as an intelligence officer at the time and had orchestrated the assassination plan.

Pannun told Reuters earlier this month that the Modi government should not be allowed to conduct hostile activity in foreign countries and said India's consulates in the US and Canada were running a "spy network", although he did not provide any proof.

The US and Canada "need to put their foot down that regimes like Modi's...should not be allowed to come to America or Canada, challenge their sovereignty and get away with it. They need to put their foot down and close (the consulates) permanently," he said.

Pannun did not elaborate on the alleged spy network. Similar assertions have been made by Sikh activists in America and Canada.

India's foreign ministry did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters regarding Pannun's allegations. India, where Pannun was born, has labelled him a terrorist since 2020.

Authorities in the US and Canada declined comment on Pannun's allegations.

The US and Canada have alleged Indian agents were involved in assassination plots in their countries last year against campaigners for 'Khalistan', a Sikh homeland they want carved out of India's Punjab state where Sikh militancy in the 1980s and 1990s killed thousands of people.

India has denied involvement in any of the plots.

The allegations have damaged India's ties with Canada and tested relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India's government of involvement in the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader in Canada. In May, Canadian police arrested and charged four Indian men for the murder. They are yet to be tried.

India has said Canada has not provided any evidence to support its allegations and New Delhi and Ottawa expelled six diplomats each earlier this month in a growing diplomatic spat.

However, India has said it is investigating the murder plot against Pannun and US officials have said they want a speedy result.

Pannun said Vikash Yadav, the former Indian official indicted by the US for the alleged attempt on his life, was just a "middle-tier soldier", assigned the task of organising the assassination by higher-level Indian officials. He did not offer any proof nor say how he had come to the conclusion.

New Delhi has said Yadav was no longer a government employee, without saying whether he had been an intelligence officer and not detailing when he left. Yadav's whereabouts are not known but his family told Reuters earlier this month he had been in contact and denied the allegations in the US indictment.

Indian security officials have said they fear that a rise in support for Khalistan overseas may lead to resurgence of militancy that had previously paralysed Punjab state, the birthplace of Sikh nationalism, where the movement for a separate homeland now commands little support.

Pannun, who has been holding independent referendums in the US, Canada and Europe on creating Khalistan, said in the interview his movement advocates peaceful resolution of the matter, and will continue despite threats to his life.