A group of Sikh community members confronted Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu at a New York Gurdwara who was visiting Hicksville Gurdwara in Long Island on the occasion of Gurpurab.
In the footage, it could be seen that a number of protesters surrounded him and started shouting and accused him of plotting the assassination of Canadian national Hardeep Singh Nijjar and also conspiring to get another leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murdered.
The video of the exchange between Sandhu and the Sikh community members has been taking rounds. The footage starts with the envoy telling the protesters that he is visiting the gurdwara for seva (service).
Read More: Canada expels top Indian diplomat over killing of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar
US authorities thwart conspiracy to kill Pannun
Financial Times reported that US authorities had thwarted a conspiracy to kill Pannun, leader of Khalistani organisation Sikhs for Justice, on American soil. Asked about the report, the White House said the US is "treating a reported plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil with utmost seriousness" and has raised the issue with the Indian government "at the senior-most levels".
White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Indian authorities had "expressed surprise and concern" in the matter and "stated that activity of this nature was not their policy".
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— Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (@SFJGenCounsel) November 26, 2023
BREAKING 📢
Indian Ambassador to USA Tarajjit Sandhu aborted his visit and fled the Hicksville Gurdwara in a haste, embarrassed and without answering the questions raised by the Pro Khalistan Sikhs about his role in the assassination attempt against… pic.twitter.com/AlH92Rjlev
Indian diplomat flees over questions on kill attempt on Sikh leader’s life
A senior Indian diplomat had to flee a Gurdwara here after pro-Khalistan Sikhs activists confronted him over his role in the failed Indian state plot to assassinate Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel to Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and spokesperson for the global Khalistan Referendum campaign.
Pro-Khalistan Sikhs confronted Indian diplomat Taranjit Sandhu with questions for his role in the failed plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Himmat Singh, who led the pro Khalistan Sikhs at Hicksville Gurdwara in New York also accused ambassador Sandhu for India’s role in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was President of Surrey Gurdwara and the coordinator for the Canadian Chapter of the Khalistan Referendum.
Agitated by the questioning in the public, diplomat Sandhu aborted his visit and fled the Hicksville Gurdwara in a haste without answering any of the questions raised by the Pro-Khalistan Sikhs.
“I only wanted answers from ambassador Sandhu as to why India is using violence to stop the global Khalistan Referendum voting,” stated Himmat Singh who heads the East Coast Coordination Committee.
“American constitution gives US Citizens the right to peacefully question anyone irrespective of their affiliation or position in the Government,” stated Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, SFJ General Counsel who was the target of India's assassination plot foiled by US intelligence.
“Despite India’s attempt to assassinate me, Khalistan Referendum Voting will continue and the American Phase is going to start from 28th January 2024 in San Francisco, California,” stated Pannun.
Four days ago, the US authorities said they thwarted an Indian conspiracy to assassinate pro-Khalistan leader of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) Mr Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil and issued a warning to India’s government over concerns it was involved in the plot, according to multiple people familiar with the case who spoke to the Financial Times (FT).
The FT revealed the intelligence people familiar with the case said the Indian govt was behind the plot to kill Pannun who has been running a worldwide campaign called Khalistan Referendum in which over 1.3 million Sikhs have voted so far. The US informed some allies about the plot following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist killed in Vancouver in June.
In September, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking New Delhi to Nijjar’s fatal shooting.
The FT said that one person familiar with the situation said the US protest was issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a high-profile state visit to Washington in June.
The FT revealed that separate from the diplomatic warning, US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator of the plot in a New York district court, according to people familiar with the case.
The US justice department is debating whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjar’s murder, said the paper.
Canada expels India's envoy
Canada in September expelled New Delhi’s head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)— India's foreign intelligence agency—stationed in Ottawa accusing India’s involvement in the killing of a Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
The already strained relations between Ottawa and New Delhi took a dramatic new low.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed an emergency session of the parliamentary opposition that his government had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June in British Columbia.
He called in the strongest possible terms for the Indian government to cooperate in clearing up the matter.
