An Indian American attorney says he’s still receiving hundreds of death threats even after federal investigators in the U.S. linked a plot to kill him back to a government official in India.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of New York spoke to the Guardian about the threats.
“They want me dead. I know that because I am organizing a Khalistan referendum to liberate Punjab from the Indian occupation,” he said.
Pannun said the threats on social media and other forums have not decreased even though a plot to kill him became public.
Authorities in India named him a threat to the country in 2020. He is holding a symbolic referendum in California for Sikh voters next month.
According to NY1, court documents in New York district court allege that a government official recruited an Indian national to kill Pannun on American soil.
“I am unphased, and undaunted,” Pannun said to NY1. “The death doesn’t scare us. We are in the home of the brave, and the land of the free. We don’t fear death in America.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to look into the allegations. Pannun’s group, Sikh for Justice, has been labeled a terrorist organization by India on grounds it supports extremists and secessionist activities.
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