FBI and Canadian police alert Sikh activist to fresh credible death threat

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen and leading Sikh separatist, announced that the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have each warned him of a new credible threat to his life. FBI agents met with him last Thursday, urging him not to travel and to inform the agency of any travel plans, while the RCMP called him on Tuesday with a similar alert, though neither provided specifics about the threat.

The warnings come as Nikhil Gupta, who admitted in February to a federal conspiracy to assassinate Pannun in 2023, awaits a November 20 sentencing in Manhattan, where prosecutors say he was directed by an Indian government employee and mistakenly contacted an undercover officer posing as a hitman. Federal sentencing guidelines call for Gupta to serve at least two decades. Pannun, who campaigns for a sovereign Sikh state and is labeled a terrorist by India, said he remains undeterred by the threats and hopes the U.S. and Canadian governments will confront India over such actions.