New findings: India tried to kill American Sikh because they “knew they could get away with it”

New findings on India’s anti-Sikh transnational repression suggest Indian intelligence motioned an assassination attempt on an American Sikh whilst Narendra Modi and Joe Biden “ate at the White House”, because they “knew they could get away with it”.

The revelations came from an ongoing Washington Post (WP) investigation into India’s state sanctioned overseas terrorism. New York based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, lead of the Khalistan Referendum campaign, was the target of a failed Indian State assassination last year in November.

The new information will be a slap in the face for India, who last month attempted to blame “rogue agents” on the assassination attempt on Pannun. However, since then Senior Indian ministers have admitted to India carrying out assassinations in Pakistan, which a recent Guardian investigation revealed includes collaboration with Islamic extremist group ISIS. The WP have seemingly affirmed this, through interviews with “three dozen current and former senior officials in the United States, India, Canada, Britain, Germany and Australia” which reveal that “India’s spy chief cleared” the plot to kill Pannun, which leaves much of the world watching and waiting for more US sanctions against India.

The articles refer to former RAW (Research and Analysis Wing, Indian intelligence agency) Head Samant Goel, who resigned last year in June, just a day after the assassination of Shaheed (martyr) Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey (BC, Canada).

Goel’s move to target Sikh diaspora activists would have been cleared by Prime Minister Modi’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval according to the reports, although the US are yet to confirm this with evidence. However, RAW agent Vikram Yadav has been named as the first official Indian government representative who was involved in the attempted assassination on Pannun. Yadav was previously unnamed in US documents on the incident.

Goel, who is notorious for his role in the #SikhGenocide with at least 128 cases of extrajudicial killings linked to him, was also said to be warned by UK authorities regarding his harassment of British Sikhs when stationed in the UK, with the WP report saying “In Britain, RAW’s surveillance and harassment of the Sikh population — especially a large concentration near Birmingham — became so egregious in 2014 and 2015 that MI5, Britain’s domestic security service, delivered warnings to Goel, who was then serving as RAW’s station chief in London.” The issue led to Goel being threatened with expulsion from the UK, which Goel allegedly “scoffed” at, suggesting Indian influence in the UK is far stronger than many would believe.

Meanwhile, India’s work with criminals to target Sikhs was also emphasised, with the article revealing Doval “exhibited a willingness to engage with the criminal underworld” to carry out crimes for India. This is something Indian army affiliate and Hindu extremist Major Gaurav Arya was also criticised for exclaiming last year.

The article discusses the work of Indian agents across the world, including how ‘In Australia, two RAW officers were expelled in 2020 after authorities broke up what Mike Burgess, head of the Australian intelligence service, described as a “nest of spies.”’ Australian Sikhs have long complained of attempts by Indian nationalists to malign and divide the community. The article goes on to mention expulsions also happened in Germany, where Indian spies have been caught targeting Sikhs.

The news is guaranteed to upset advocates of US sovereignty and supporters of President Biden’s Democratic Party who now look weak, with many suggesting the incidents would not have been carried out under the reign of former Republican President Donald Trump. The position of Biden’s government looks extra suspect with news from WP that they warned India about the article before it was released, without informing WP of their dialogue with India about it. The official White House response to the findings so far has simply called them “very serious”.

An official Indian response to the WP findings said such actions are “not our policy”.

Confirmation of India’s interference targeting Sikhs in the UK is guaranteed to up pressure on Rishi Sunak’s government to address the issue, which thus far has been ignored.