The Indian National Investigation Agency (AIN) today seized the assets of a prominent Sikh separatist leader residing in Canada and linked to the activist murdered in that same country, in a death that sparked a bilateral conflict this week.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom the Indian Justice considers the leader of the Khalistani Sikh separatist organization and described as a “terrorist”, had a home and several pieces of land confiscated in the northern state of Punjab, according to a statement from the AIN, the main anti-terrorism agency in India.
“Tightening the noose around a Canada-based ‘designated terrorist individual’, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the National Investigation Agency today seized the house and grounds of the general counsel of the banned organization Sikh Justice,” the AIN in a statement collected by the Europa Press news agency.
India accuses Pannun of promoting “terrorist acts” and radicalizing youth in favor of his movement, which promotes the creation of an independent state for Sikhs in Indian Punjab.
In a video posted on social media after the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijar, Pannun urged Hindus residing in Canada to return to India and according to AIN he threatened Canadian diplomats.
Pannun was declared a “terrorist” in 2020 by India, which has requested his arrest from Interpol, although it was rejected due to “insufficient information.”
Indian Justice believes that Pannun is the founder of the separatist movement, which is based in the United States and whose leader in Canada was precisely Nijjar, murdered last June in Vancouver.
Canada accuses the Indian government of being involved in this death.
Ties between the two countries suffered after this crime, which led this week to both announcing the expulsion of diplomats.
Nijjar, also wanted by Indian authorities on “terrorism” charges, was shot dead by two masked attackers near the entrance to a Sikh temple in Surrey.
He denied those accusations, according to the World Sikh Organization of Canada, an NGO that represents this religious group.
Since his murder, violent demonstrations have broken out in Canada and, in the midst of the diplomatic crisis, Ottawa announced the suspension of negotiations for a free trade agreement with India.
Source: Ambito
