A New York Sikh activist was the target of an alleged assassination attempt by an Indian agent, revealed unsealed charges filed by the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). The document also showed multiple ties to the murder of Hardeep Nijjar, a Sikh separatist residing in Canada.

A Government of India employee named Vikash Yadav is alleged to have worked with Indian national Nikhil Gupta to plot the assassination of a U.S. citizen who advocated the creation of Khalistan, the Sikh state. According to the DOJ, Gupta was reportedly charged and extradited from the Czech Republic earlier this year.

Sikh leaders allege India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has tried to counter pro-Khalistan rhetoric for years. Nijjar advocated for a non-binding referendum on establishing the Sikh state before he was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Surrey, B.C. community centre on June 18, 2023.

Nlijjar had immigrated to British Columbia in 1996 and was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency. The Hindustan Times called him “the backbone of secessionist, terror and anti-India activities” abroad.

On September 18, 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of plotting the murder of Nijjar, a naturalized Canadian citizen, though he did not present evidence to the effect.

While a first indictment unsealed last year revealed the pair's connections to Nijjar’s slaying, a second unsealed indictment said Yadav “was employed by the cabinet secretariat of the government of India,” which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office. It alleged he recruited Gupta to “orchestrate” a June 29, 2023 assassination of a U.S. target.

The unsealed documents detail that Yadav allegedly sent a video clip of Nijjar’s bloody body slumped in his vehicle to Gupta. Ultimately, the activist’s murder was carried out by others.

“About an hour later, Yadav sent Gupta the street address of the victim’s residence in New York City,” it said.

U.S. agents learned of three more potential assassination victims in Canada after Nijjar’s murder. Four Indian nationals have since been charged in his death.

Yadav remains at large as of last Thursday when U.S. Officials first announced charges against him. 

The second unsealed indictment follows an October 14 statement, in which the RCMP alleged “serious criminal activity in Canada” by Indian agents, including “homicides and violent acts,” and the use of organized crime to target the Indian diaspora. The Trudeau government promptly expelled six diplomats.

India retaliated by expelling six diplomats from Canada, calling the RCMP’s allegations “preposterous.”

The Commons Public Safety Committee agreed last week by unanimous vote to investigate RCMP murder-for-hire allegations against the Government of India. “We are at a very critical point now,” said Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan.

“Real action needs to be taken now for the safety of Canadians,” he said. “A criminal is a criminal and a Canadian is a Canadian.”

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme and others will be asked to testify about illicit activities by Indian agents in Canada.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc earlier told reporters an investigation into foreign interference would exclude India. He urged Commissioner Hogue to only “follow the evidence” on alleged interference.

“If proven true this would be a grave violation of our sovereignty and of the most basic rules of how countries deal with each other,” Foreign Minister Joly said at the time. The October 14 RCMP statement confirmed evidence of Indian interference into Canadian democracy.

Hogue’s mandate, under the Inquiries Act, states she is to “examine and assess interference by China, Russia and other foreign states or non-state actors” to confirm the integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections.

Following 10 days of public hearings in April, allegations of interference by India were among those investigated. Hogue did not detail specifics, as her findings were based on classified documents.

The inquiry said New Delhi tried to disguise foreign meddling by using Canadian and Canadian-based proxies to cover up their tracks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified at the Foreign Interference Commission last Wednesday, where he said India refused to cooperate with the RCMP investigations, including the one into Nijjar’s murder.

“We returned to Canada, and it was obvious that the Indian government’s response, particularly through the media, was to instead attack Canada, to attack Canadians, to criticize us, to undermine our government and our governance, and, quite frankly, that integrity of our democracy,” Trudeau testified.

On May 31, New Democrat MPs sponsored a Commons motion to include all states suspected of foreign interference in the public inquiry. The non-binding motion passed but the federal government never took action.

New Delhi earlier claimed Nijjar became “actively involved in operationalizing, networking, training and financing” members of the militant group Khalistan Tiger Force. The RCMP has not ruled out whether India is tied to his homicide.

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