'Warned by FBI, Canadian police of credible plot': SFJ's Pannun claims fresh threat to life

Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, claimed on Tuesday (local time) that he had been warned by both the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of a “new credible threat” to his life.Pannun, the general counsel of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), said FBI agents visited him last Thursday and advised him not to travel until the threat was resolved. He added that the agency asked him to notify them in advance if he did make any travel plans.Also Read | ‘$100,000 reward for raising Khalistani flags before EU leaders’: FIR filed against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun ahead of Republic Day“I was warned under the terms of a ‘Duty to Warn’ law in the United States,” Pannun told the Associated Press, referring to a provision that requires US intelligence and law enforcement agencies to alert individuals when they become aware of credible and specific threats involving murder, serious bodily harm or kidnapping.“I’m not afraid of their death threats. I’m going to continue, even at the cost of a bullet,” Pannun said.His remarks came after he claimed that the RCMP had also warned him by telephone on Tuesday. Neither law enforcement agency, however, disclosed details of the alleged plot or threat.Pannun further stated that Canadian law enforcement officials had issued similar “Duty to Warn” advisories to Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistani terrorist and a Canadian citizen, in the weeks leading up to his assassination in Surrey, Canada, in June 2023.Nijjar’s killing had triggered a major diplomatic row between Canada and India after the then-Justin Trudeau government alleged that the Indian government was involved in the assassination. New Delhi rejected the allegations.In a separate case, Indian national Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty in February to federal conspiracy charges over a 2023 plot to assassinate Pannun. Gupta is awaiting sentencing, scheduled for November 20, in a Manhattan federal court.Federal sentencing guidelines recommend that Gupta serve at least 20 years in prison.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.