US officials meet Sikh activists ahead of Biden-Modi meeting

WASHINGTON: Senior US officials met with Sikh advocates on Thursday to discuss threats facing Sikhs in the United States, including a foiled murder plot against a prominent activist last year, several attendees told Reuters.

The meeting with senior White House and US intelligence officials came two days before President Joe Biden is to meet India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The US has been pushing India to investigate the murder plot against dual US-Canada citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, as it continues its own criminal investigation into India's possible involvement.

The officials briefed a group of Sikh advocates about the government's ongoing conversations with India in a closed-door meeting organised by the National Security Council, according to the attendees.

The White House and the Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Biden will have a one-on-one discussion with Modi on the sidelines of a joint meeting of the United States, India, Japan and Australia on Saturday. India has featured prominently in Washington's stepped-up diplomacy to deepen strategic partnerships aimed at countering the influence of China and Russia.

While the US has expressed concern over the Sikh incident, it has so far emphasized the importance of the relationship with New Delhi, given shared security interests.

Senior US officials on Thursday sought to assure the Sikh community that Washington remained committed to protecting Americans from acts of "transnational repression" - a term that refers to efforts by a government to harass, threaten or harm people on foreign soil.

They also provided an update on efforts by US law enforcement to educate local police about the threats and to encourage Sikhs to report any threats or harassment.

"Yesterday, we had the chance to thank senior federal government officials for saving lives of Sikh Americans and for vigilance in protecting our community," said Pritpal Singh, the founder of the advocacy group the American Sikh Caucus Committee, who attended the meeting.

"We asked them to do more and we will hold them to their assurances that they will."

Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country's intelligence agency were pursuing credible allegations that Modi's government was behind the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist who was vocal in supporting the creation of a new separate Sikh state in northern Indian called "Khalistan."

Two months later, the US Justice Department charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to arrange the murder of Pannun, another prominent Sikh separatist, at the behest of an unnamed Indian intelligence official.

India has denied involvement in both incidents.

Gupta has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York City, while four other Indian nationals in Canada are facing charges of murder and conspiracy in the death of Nijjar.

This week, Pannun filed a civil lawsuit against India over its alleged attempt to have him killed.

Following Nijjar's killing, Reuters has reported that the FBI and the Canadian Royal Mounted Police privately warned at least seven Sikh activists that their lives could be in grave danger, including Pritpal Singh.

Since then, many Sikh activists in the United States and Canada, including some elected officials, have said they continue to face threats and harassment.