California, 24 August 2024 (TDI): In the US and Canada, assaults and harassment are still directed towards Sikh community leaders, including political officials and Sikh activists.
A California activist with a strong connection to Sikh activists leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead last year in a case that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said may be connected to India, was the subject of a drive-by shooting on August 11 that is under inquiry by the FBI.
Satinder Pal Singh Raju, of Woodland, California, said in an interview on Thursday, while returning from a late dinner in Vacaville, he and another passenger were attacked on Interstate 505 South in Yolo County. As a result, FBI agents stopped by to talk with him and his friend who was operating the truck.
In June 2023, Nijjar was slain in Surrey, British Columbia, outside the Sikh place of worship known as a gurdwara. A diplomatic crisis erupted between the two nations as a result of the killing and Trudeau’s insinuation of potential Indian government complicity.
Raju, communicating via an interpreter, reported that a white car approached their truck from the left, dropped back behind them, and then approached them from the right side once more. The first bullet was fired at that point.
I dropped to the ground with the first shot,” he claimed. “But then I heard more gun shots fired.” He claimed that Nijjar came to mind right away, stating, and “I could picture the entire scene in my mind when I thought of how Hardeep Singh Nijjar had been killed.”
According to Raju, their pickup slipped and drove off the road into a ditch as they tried to get away from the shooting. He made his way into a neighboring field with his two pals, where they took cover behind a haystack and dialed 911. He was then informed by police that at least five shell casings had been found.
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The California Highway Patrol and the FBI are working together “in support of the investigation” into the incident, the FBI’s Sacramento office stated.
An investigation is still underway, according to a California Highway Patrol spokesperson who verified the shooting. He did not, however, disclose any other information.
An alleged effort to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a well-known Sikh separatist who holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States, had been foiled by the FBI in the same month that Nijjar was killed.
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, is accused by the US Justice Department of attempting to arrange Pannun’s assassination at the request of an Indian intelligence officer.
Gupta is awaiting trial in New York after entering a plea of innocence.
In relation to Nijjar’s killing, four Indian nationals are accused of murder and conspiracy in Canada.
It was unclear whether there was a connection between the drive-by shooting that Raju was part of and those other incidents, as India has denied involvement in both.
An inquiry regarding the latest incident in California was sent to the Indian Embassy in Washington on Friday, but no response was received.
Sikh activists are cautioned by the police
At least seven Sikh activists received discreet warnings from the FBI and the Canadian Royal Mounted Police in the days and months following Nijjar’s murder that their lives would be in serious danger; however, the warnings did not identify the source of the threat.
According to Raju, he was not one of the people who got these calls. After Nijjar’s passing, threats and harassment directed towards Sikh community leaders, including political officials, have continued in the US and Canada.
Raju is active with Sikhs for Justice, an advocacy group that Pannun co-founded and which arranges worldwide nonbinding referendums advocating for the secession of India’s Punjab state and the creation of an independent state known as Khalistan.
Before it was put crushed by Delhi in the 1980s and 1990s, the movement instigated a bloody insurgency in the Indian state of Punjab.
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According to Pannun, Raju helped arrange a referendum in Calgary, Canada, which attracted the involvement of around 55,000 Sikh community members. Two weeks later, he returned, and that is when the Aug. 11 shooting took place.
Due to its involvement in extremist activities, India declared Sikhs for Justice to be an illegal association in 2019. These accusations are refuted by Pannun and its members.
Though Raju claims to be actively involved in organizing referendums, his profile is not as well-known outside as Pannun’s.
He claimed to have no enemies and that he believes the shooting was carried out with the intention of inciting terror in people who back the Khalistan movement.
He stated, “They wish to put an end to the Khalistan referendum. However, I will not let this attack on me or the threats of death stop me from carrying out the campaign.”
