The FBI is investigating new threats against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun after agents visited his New York City home, according to Pannun. Agents told him the threat could be connected to possible travel to Canada for an October 18 non-binding referendum organized by his group, Sikhs for Justice, but did not provide further details. The warning follows separate contacts from the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police in August and September, as well as a foiled 2023 plot that led to federal charges. Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty in February and is scheduled for sentencing in November, where Pannun is expected to speak. The FBI has not publicly commented, and its investigation continues.
TLDR: Federal agents warned Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of a new threat that may relate to travel to Canada for an October 18 referendum. The FBI is investigating; the available account gives no further threat details or public assurance about the outcome.
The FBI is investigating new threats against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who says agents visited his New York City home on Thursday to warn him of danger. The warning comes ahead of an October 18 event in Edmonton, Canada, organized by Sikhs for Justice, the group Pannun leads. The FBI has not publicly detailed the threat or responded immediately to a request for comment.
The stated purpose of the FBI’s visit was to warn Pannun and investigate leads related to a threat that agents said could be connected to possible travel to Canada for the referendum. That is the available official explanation. Agents did not give Pannun further information, according to his account to CBS News. The public account does not identify who may have made the threat or explain what the FBI’s leads involve.
The planned event is a non-binding referendum asking whether Punjab, a northern Indian province, should be declared independent and renamed Khalistan. Sikhs have been invited to vote. The vote will not itself change Punjab’s status, and the excerpt provides no further details about how it will be conducted. The event is organized by Sikhs for Justice, which Pannun leads. The available information does not say how many people are expected to attend or whether the referendum will affect any government decision.
Pannun is a vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said agents warned him about what he described as an imminent threat to his life. The new warning follows a foiled 2023 assassination plot that prosecutors have linked to people accused of working with an Indian organized criminal group and a former Indian intelligence officer.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta and former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav with plotting to assassinate Pannun, a dual American and Canadian citizen. Gupta pleaded guilty in February to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November, and Pannun is expected to speak at that hearing. Yadav was also charged, but the account does not give an update on his case.
The case has a wider cross-border context. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh separatist and friend of Pannun, was shot and killed outside his gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Canadian officials said in September 2023 that they had evidence linking the killing to Indian government agents. India has denied involvement in Nijjar’s killing and the attempt on Pannun’s life. India has also called Sikh separatists terrorists and said they pose a threat to its security.
Pannun told CBS News that this was not the first law-enforcement warning he received this year. He said the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted him in August and September about separate possible threats. The account does not provide details about those earlier warnings or describe any protective measures that followed. It also does not say whether the agencies believe the earlier reports are connected to the new warning.
The warnings began, according to Pannun, not long after federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced charges in July against a prominent leader and eight associates of the Indian organized criminal group known as Bishnoi. The charges tied them to Nijjar’s 2023 killing. The indictment says group leader Bishnoi continued to run a global crime syndicate from prison after his arrest by Indian authorities in 2015. It also accuses childhood friend Satinderjit Singh Brar of directing the group’s North American operations and ordering the assassination. Those allegations are not a finding of guilt.
The practical impact described so far is limited but direct: FBI agents warned Pannun in person, are investigating leads, and linked the reported threat to possible travel to Canada. The October 18 referendum gives that travel a near-term context. No fee, required form, travel restriction, compliance deadline, or specific enforcement step is identified in the account. The available information does not say whether Pannun will travel or whether authorities will issue further guidance. It also does not describe a change to the event or any requirement for people planning to attend.
The immediate next steps are the FBI’s continued investigation and Gupta’s November sentencing, where Pannun is expected to speak. The FBI has not publicly provided further details or an assurance about the outcome. Those ongoing investigative and court processes are the available oversight; the facts do not support a broader guarantee that the danger has been resolved.
Eric Nolan serves as the Senior Correspondent for Food, Water, and Environmental Health at Just Right News, where he brings a principled, common-sense perspective to the most fundamental issues facing the American public. With a career dedicated to uncovering the truth behind the policies that govern our natural resources, Eric has become a trusted voice for readers who value traditional stewardship over bureaucratic overreach. His reporting is defined by a commitment to the idea that true environmentalism is rooted in the protection of the American family and the preservation of the nation’s agricultural heritage.
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