WASHINGTON (Daily Point) — Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu faced a confrontational situation with members of the Sikh community at a New York Gurdwara during his visit to the Hicksville Gurdwara in Long Island for Gurpurab.
In a video circulating online, protesters surrounded Sandhu, accusing him of involvement in a plot to assassinate Canadian national Hardeep Singh Nijjar and conspiring against another leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The footage begins with Sandhu explaining his visit for seva (service) at the gurdwara. Reports from the Financial Times reveal that US authorities had thwarted a conspiracy to kill Pannun, the leader of the Khalistani organizstion Sikhs for Justice, on American soil. The White House acknowledged the seriousness of the reported plot and raised the issue with the Indian government at the highest levels.
Following the confrontation, a senior Indian diplomat had to hastily leave the Hicksville Gurdwara amid questions about India’s role in the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun. Himmat Singh, leading the pro-Khalistan Sikhs, accused Ambassador Sandhu of India’s involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the President of Surrey Gurdwara and coordinator for the Canadian Chapter of the Khalistan Referendum.
Sandhu, agitated by the public questioning, abruptly ended his visit without addressing the concerns raised by the pro-Khalistan Sikhs. The Sikh community members questioned India’s use of violence to obstruct the global Khalistan Referendum voting.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the target of the foiled assassination plot, asserted that despite India’s attempts, the Khalistan Referendum Voting would continue, with the American phase scheduled to start on January 28, 2024, in San Francisco, California.
Recent developments include the US authorities revealing the thwarted Indian conspiracy to assassinate Pannun and issuing a warning to the Indian government. The Financial Times disclosed that the Indian government was allegedly behind the plot, and the US Justice Department is contemplating whether to unseal the indictment against the perpetrators.
In a related incident, Canada expelled India’s head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), accusing India of involvement in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for Indian cooperation in the investigation, further straining relations between Ottawa and New Delhi.
