Prominent Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said Tuesday that the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have warned him that he faces a new credible threat to his life. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Pannun, general counsel for Sikhs For Justice, said FBI agents who visited him last Thursday warned him not to travel until the threat is resolved, and if he does, to notify the agency in advance. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also warned him by telephone on Tuesday, but neither agency gave details.
Pannun said he was warned under the U.S. "Duty to Warn" law, which obligates intelligence and law enforcement agencies to notify individuals of credible and specific threats of murder, severe bodily harm, or kidnapping.
The new threat comes as Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who pleaded guilty in February to federal conspiracy charges, awaits a Nov. 20 sentencing in Manhattan federal court for plotting to assassinate Pannun in 2023. The FBI said Gupta was directed by an Indian government employee and unwittingly communicated with an undercover officer. Federal guidelines call for at least two decades in prison.
Pannun, who advocates for a sovereign Sikh state and is considered a terrorist by India, said in a phone interview he was "unfazed and undaunted" and hoped the Trump and Carney administrations would confront Modi. He recalled that "Duty to Warn" advisories were issued to Hardeep Singh Nijjar before his assassination on June 18, 2023. Pannun said he will continue "even at the cost of a bullet."