A U.S. indictment says a man plotting to assassinate a Sikh activist in New York also discussed the murder of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June, and said there were three more B次元官网网址渏obsB次元官网网址� that needed to be carried out in Canada that month.
American prosecutors say Nikhil Gupta, 52, was recruited by an Indian government employee to arrange the U.S. killing, and they arranged to pay an undercover officer they thought was a hit man US$100,000 to kill the activist.
The murder-for-hire indictment against Gupta, an Indian national, says he told the undercover officer that Nijjar B次元官网网址渨as also the target,B次元官网网址� and because he was dead, there was B次元官网网址渘o need to waitB次元官网网址� on the next killing.
The indictment was unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court.
The alleged New York target isnB次元官网网址檛 named in the document, but has previously been identified by U.S. officials as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen who is involved in organizing unofficial referendums on Sikh independence.
The description of the case against Gupta comes just over two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament there were B次元官网网址渃redible allegationsB次元官网网址� linking NijjarB次元官网网址檚 killing to IndiaB次元官网网址檚 government, claims that New Delhi called absurd.
The indictment says Gupta told the undercover officer the day after NijjarB次元官网网址檚 murder outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., that B次元官网网址渨e have so many targets.B次元官网网址�
It says the plot was directed by an Indian government employee who has described himself as a B次元官网网址渟enior field officerB次元官网网址� with responsibilities in B次元官网网址渟ecurity managementB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渋ntelligence.B次元官网网址�
Trudeau said Wednesday that Canadian authorities have been working closely with their American counterparts since August in relation to the assertion about Indian government involvement in NijjarB次元官网网址檚 killing.
B次元官网网址淭he news coming out of the United States further underscores what weB次元官网网址檝e been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously. The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that weB次元官网网址檙e getting to the bottom of this,B次元官网网址� he told reporters in Ottawa.
B次元官网网址淭his is not something that anyone can take lightly. Our responsibility is to keep Canadians safe, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檙e going to continue to do.B次元官网网址�
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday the U.S. indictment B次元官网网址渃onfirms that Canada is not alone at managing these particular threats.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 important for us is the government of Canada and agencies like the RCMP and the intelligence service do everything that they can to protect Canadians, but also to hold accountable those who murdered a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.B次元官网网址�
Pannun said Wednesday that the Indian government wants to kill him because of his role organizing the Sikh referendums, extending overseas B次元官网网址渋ts policy of violently crushingB次元官网网址� the movement.
B次元官网网址淔or me, itB次元官网网址檚 not (an) indictment against Nikhil Gupta. The indictment is against (the) Indian prime minister,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview.
Pannun called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a B次元官网网址渉uman rights violatorB次元官网网址� with a B次元官网网址渢rack record of using violence to suppress criticism and dissenting political opinion.B次元官网网址�
He would not say whether American authorities had previously warned him of threats to his life.
Both Pannun and Nijjar were prominent members of Sikhs for Justice, the group organizing the referendums on the establishment of an independent Sikh state.
B次元官网网址淭he attempt on my life on American soil is the blatant case of IndiaB次元官网网址檚 transnational terrorism which has become a challenge to AmericaB次元官网网址檚 sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and democracy,B次元官网网址� Pannun said in a statement.
Representatives of the High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Consulate General of India in Vancouver did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the indictment.
Gupta has been charged with murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.
B次元官网网址淭he defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,B次元官网网址� U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release.
Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30 in the Czech Republic through a bilateral extradition treaty between the U.S. and the Czech Republic, according to the release. It was not immediately clear when he might be brought to the United States.
The unnamed Indian government employee recruited Gupta last May to orchestrate the assassination, the indictment says.
In June, the Indian government employee gave Gupta the home address of Pannun, his phone numbers and details about his daily conduct, including surveillance photographs, which Gupta then passed along to the undercover agent, the indictment says.
It says Gupta directed the undercover agent to carry out the murder as soon as possible, but also warned the agent not to commit the killing around the time of anticipated engagements between high-level U.S. and Indian officials.
It said Gupta told a confidential source B次元官网网址渢hat before the B次元官网网址�29th [of June] we have to finish four jobs,B次元官网网址� i.e.: the victim and, after that, B次元官网网址榯hree in Canada.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly said little Wednesday about the unfolding murder-for-hire plot and its echoes of a similar investigation in Canada.
B次元官网网址淲hen it comes to whatB次元官网网址檚 happening in the U.S., I wonB次元官网网址檛 comment directly because, of course, I respect the work that the American law enforcement agencies are doing and I respect also the independence of their legal system,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淲e stand by our own credible allegations that there was the killing of a Canadian, on Canadian soil, linking to Indian agents.B次元官网网址�
British Columbia Premier David Eby said during an unrelated news conference on Wednesday that if there is credible information about a threat to lives of people in Canada from a foreign government, then the province needs that information to be able to respond.
He said the information from the United States is just another reminder of how vulnerable our international relationships can be.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e a small trade dependent jurisdiction. CanadaB次元官网网址檚 relationship with the rest of the world has a disproportionate impact on British Columbia. Tensions between the U.S. and China and Canada, and China and Canada and India have impacts on trade for us.B次元官网网址�
The White House declined to comment directly on the charges against Gupta, but stressed administration officials acted quickly.
B次元官网网址淲hen we were made aware of the fact that the defendant in this case had credibly indicated that he was directed to arrange the murder by an individual who is assessed to be an employee of the Indian Government, we took this information very seriously and engaged in direct conversations with the Indian government at the highest levels to express our concern,B次元官网网址� White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
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