Documents of the case of the conspiracy to kill Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu were handed over to the Modi government at the request of a New York court, the US State Department
The Khalistan movement had filed a case in a US court against the Indian government, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav, Nikhil Gupta and others. The named accused are accused of murder conspiracy
Nikhil Gupta has admitted the charges, India is sponsoring, providing intelligence, financial support and facilitation to terrorist activities around the world, Ajit Doval is the chief architect of Indian terrorism, DG ISPR's response
Washington: The US has issued a court notice and summons to the Indian government through a diplomatic letter over the conspiracy to kill a Sikh leader. According to the US State Department notice published in the Indian newspaper The Hindu, the US court has ordered India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to cross the border into India. A notice has been issued on state terrorism and documents in the case of the conspiracy to kill Khalistan leader Garuptunat Singh Pannu have been delivered to the Indian government at the request of a New York court. The US State Department has said that the summons and court notice were sent to the Indian embassy through diplomatic mail on October 9, 2026. The Indian journal reported that in September 2024, Garuptunat Singh Pannu had filed a case in a US court against the Indian government, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav, Nikhil Gupta and others. According to the international news agency Reuters, in 2023, an agent of the Indian intelligence agency “RAW” had given Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta the responsibility for the murder of Garuptunat Singh Pannu on the instructions of the Indian government. An Indian media report said that in February 2026, Nikhil Gupta had admitted to all three charges in the US criminal case related to the conspiracy to kill Pannu. Former RAW chiefs Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav and Nikhil Gupta are also named in the case.
DG ISPR has said in his response that India is sponsoring, providing intelligence, financing and facilitating terrorist activities across the world, Ajit Doval is the chief architect of Indian terrorism. The Director General of Public Relations of the Pakistani military has also accused India of sponsoring, providing intelligence, financing, and facilitating terrorist activities abroad. According to the statement provided, the DG ISPR has described Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as the main planner of these activities. The DG ISPR has also repeatedly made it clear that India is sponsoring, providing intelligence, financing and facilitating terrorist activities in the world and Ajit Doval is the chief architect of this terrorism.
According to details, the US has delivered the court summons and case documents to the Indian government through diplomatic channels in the case of alleged conspiracy to murder filed by Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. The US State Department has confirmed that these documents were handed over to the Indian Embassy in Washington on October 9, 2026. On the other hand, the New York court has also allowed action through Indian courts to serve court documents on Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and former RAW chief Samant Goel, who are named in the case. According to reports, the US State Department has clarified that the delivery of documents has been done under legal requirements and this step does not mean that the US government has endorsed the allegations in the case or taken a position in their favor. The delivery of court documents through diplomatic channels has been described as part of the legal process of the case. According to the Indian magazine Outlook, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a leader associated with the Khalistan movement, approached the US court in September 2024 and named the Indian government, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goel, Vikram Yadav, Nikhil Gupta and others in the case. Pannu had alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to assassinate him in New York in 2023, in which Indian government officials and people associated with the intelligence agency were involved. The lawsuit seeks legal action and damages against the Indian government and the named individuals.
The case also involved the issue of serving court documents on Ajit Doval and former RAW chief Sumant Goyal and other named individuals. On November 9, 2026, a New York court allowed Ajit Doval and Sumant Goyal to serve documents through Indian courts, while a notice was sent to the Indian government through the US State Department under diplomatic correspondence. According to the International News Agency, US prosecutors had alleged that in 2023, an official affiliated with the Indian intelligence agency RAW gave Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta the responsibility of implementing the conspiracy to kill Gariptunat Singh Pannu. According to US authorities, Nikhil Gupta allegedly tried to hire a person for the murder, who was actually an undercover officer of the US agency. According to a report on February 13, 2026, Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty to three charges related to the alleged conspiracy to kill Pannu in a New York federal court. The charges include conspiracy to commit murder for money, aiding and abetting a conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to US prosecutors, Gupta played a role in planning the murder at the direction of an Indian government official. The case of allegations of Indian government officials targeting Sikh leaders abroad has also come to light in Canada before. In September 2023, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in Parliament that Canadian authorities were investigating the possible involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Najjar. This statement led to tensions in India-Canada relations. India denied the allegations.
It should be noted that the allegations made in the civil case of Garuptunat Singh Pannu and the allegations admitted by Nikhil Gupta in the US criminal case are separate legal proceedings. The US State Department’s move to provide documents to the Indian government is not a judicial decision on the allegations in the case, while India has denied the allegation of government-level involvement in the alleged conspiracy against Pannu. It is worth noting that in September 2023, the then Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, had also announced the involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Najjar.
India Summons
