Sikh activists in California fear being targeted in alleged assassination plot

Bobby Singh carefully read the details contained in the federal indictment made public this week alleging a plot by the Indian government to assassinate Sikh activists in the U.S.

Then Singh, a Sacramento State student and local leader in the movement to create an independent Sikh state, came upon an especially chilling detail: One of the targets, an unnamed person, was in California.

“Could this be me?” he wondered.

Singh has good reason to consider that possibility.

Like many Sikh activists in the Central Valley and Bay Area, Singh’s life has been a surreal mix of sadness, fear, defiance and frequent concerning conversations with the FBI ever since his mentor and Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Canada on June 18.

Just two days after Nijjar was ambushed by masked gunmen, Singh received a threatening text message at 1:41 a.m. “Just a heads up for you. You’re next in USA. We have all tools ready to come fix the problems.”

Singh was not aware at the time that the FBI was already closing in on a sprawling assassination plot in the United States targeting Sikhs, with the alleged funding and origins coming from the government of India, or that the communications of the alleged ringleaders were being monitored. It’s not known if those communications mentioned Singh. The Sacramento activist was first told by the FBI that his life could be in danger in June.

Singh said that FBI agents have met with him multiple times, most recently on Oct. 31. He has not spoken to them, however, since the release of the latest indictment, filed in New York. Law enforcement officials have not disclosed the name of any alleged assassination target other than Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York lawyer for the organization Sikhs for Justice.

Singh it turns out, has a close connection to Pannun. Referring to him as his “legal advisor,” he said they speak frequently.

The details in the unsealed indictment read like something out of a spy novel. They allege that an unnamed Indian intelligence official based in India organized the assassination plot by enlisting a suspected drug and weapons trafficker, Nikhil Gupta. Gupta was offered up to $150,000 to eliminate Pannun.

Gupta was arrested by authorities in the Czech Republic on June 30.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI unraveled the alleged plot through the use of an informant and an undercover agent posing as a hit man.

Besides the plan to kill Pannun, the indictment references multiple other plots, including what appears to be the assassination plan that eventually killed Nijjar. Gupta told the informant that there was a “big target” in Canada, and that they will need a “good team in Canada.”

In another disturbing detail, the unidentified Indian government official stated to Gupta over encrypted messaging that they had a “target in New York” and another target in “California.”

Gupta replied, “We will hit all our targets.”

Might one of those targets be right here in Sacramento?

Prior to the indictment being unsealed, Singh said he spoke to Pannun, who told him to “take care” and be mindful of his surroundings.

Singh is far from the only Sikh in California who found the indictment chilling — or might have legitimate concerns of being targeted by a campaign of transnational repression by India’s Hindu nationalist government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the assassination of Nijjar, a proponent of the separatist Sikh state of Khalistan, The Sacramento Bee reported on alleged threats against and surveillance of Sikhs in California.

Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, a Bakersfield Democrat and family physician who is the first Sikh elected to the California Legislature, said in an interview at her Sacramento office that she has been meeting with staff to discuss what might be done to ensure the safety of the estimated 250,000 Sikh Americans in California.

“I’m in shock, and just trying to take this in,” Bains said, about the details in the unsealed indictment. “I’ve been getting messages all day from people concerned about my safety. ”

Bains, who has also met with the FBI, has received multiple threats following her backing of a resolution recognizing a 1984 genocide against Sikhs.

“Many Sikhs left India to escape repression,” she said. “It’s terrifying to see that the most repressive elements of the Indian government are following us here.”

Another California Sikh whose security the FBI is concerned about is Dr. Pritpal Singh, founder of the American Sikh Caucus Committee. Less than a week after the assassination of Nijjar, a security camera at Singh’s home captured a dark Mercedes SUV at a gate in front of the home. The driver took several cell phone photos.

Singh says one thing he found particularly alarming is that the vehicle appeared to have one of its side windows removed and replaced with a flexible membrane through which a weapon could be fired.

Dr. Singh said that he, too, is deeply troubled by revelations in the indictment.

“The surveillance pattern mentioned in the indictment mirrors incidents that my family has encountered at our residence on at least two occasions. We’ve provided supporting evidence to both the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

“The events involving India’s blatant disregard for the rule of law, orchestrating the killing of an American activist on US soil is shocking to our community. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the DOJ, FBI, NYPD, the Czechs, and all the dedicated law enforcement agencies for their unwavering commitment to keeping America safe.”

That India, whose leader President Biden hosted for a White House dinner in June, could be behind such brazen plots in Canada and on U.S. soil is creating a geopolitical earthquake in Washington, D.C. that is of special resonance in California.

In Congressional testimony earlier this month, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat whose district includes Fremont, asked FBI Director Christopher Wray about threats to Dr. Singh and other Sikhs.

Wray told Swalwell that the FBI is concerned about transnational repression. “Our vision statement is, ahead of the threat. And if we are successful in being ahead of the threat, the threat doesn’t end up coming to fruition.”

Swalwell said that “as a member of the American Sikh Congressional Caucus and representative of one of the largest Sikh populations in the U.S., I will continue to stand with the Sikh community against hate and political violence. Sikhs deserve to live in peace in America and worldwide, free from political persecution.”

Here in Sacramento, Singh, who is working his way through Sac State as a dispatcher for a transportation company, said the most recent events only make him more resolved. He said he is doubling down on organizing efforts promoting a non-binding Khalistan independence referendum for expatriate Sikhs in San Francisco on January 28.

“I am sticking to the cause,” Singh said. “India calls us terrorists, but what is being revealed is who the real terrorists are. India will grasp the gravity of its error in killing Hardeep Singh Nijjar.”