Concern grows over India’s role in assassination attempt of Sikh activist

Concern is growing amongst U.S. government officials over the Indian intelligence service’s reported role in two assassination plots against Sikh activists.

According to Reuters, the White House said Monday that it considers India’s involvement “a serious matter.”

“This is a serious matter, and we’re taking that very, very seriously,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We’re going to continue to raise our concerns.”

One assassination attempt targeted Singh Pannun, an attorney for Sikhs for Justice, and one of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most vocal critics. Security officials from the U.S. and India say Vikram Yadav, an officer in India’s spy agency, forwarded details about Pannun to the would-be assassins, The Washington Post reports. He said the assassination was a “priority now.”

U.S. officials also believe Yadav was involved in the slaying of Sikh temple leader and activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, Canada. Nijjar was shot to death in June 2023 in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

The Washington Post published a full report detailing Yadav’s possible involvement in the shooting and assassination attempt. According to Reuters, India’s foreign ministry has condemned the article, claiming it made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter.”