THREAT ALERT! Khalistani terrorist Pannun offers $500,000 reward for Sanjay Verma's location & travel details
Amid escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has allegedly issued a fresh threat against recently recalled Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma.
Amid escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has allegedly issued a fresh threat against recently recalled Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma. Pannun, who is wanted in India on charges of terrorism and incitement, has specifically offered $500,000 reward for details on Verma’s current location and travel plans.
The recent threat to Sanjay Verma from the pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) group comes days after Pannun had purportedly released a video depicting a photo of Verma being pumped with bullets, further aggravating the already strained diplomatic relations.
In an interview with ANI on Thursday, Sanjay Verma recalled an alarming incident in Alberta, where he was allegedly attacked by Khalistani extremists wielding a sword. "Yes, a couple of times they came very close to bodily harm us...They were carrying a sword, it was not a Kirpan...When I was in Alberta a sword came around 2-2.5 inches close to my body," Verma had said.
Verma also issued a warning to Indian students in Canada, advising them to exercise caution and avoid interactions with Khalistani extremists, who he believes are exploiting the economic uncertainty in Canada to influence vulnerable students.
The latest threat from Pannun comes amid a severe diplomatic breakdown between Canada and India. The already strained relationship between the two countries took a public turn in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that "credible allegations" linked the Indian government to the June 2022 murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple, further heightening tensions between India and pro-Khalistani factions in Canada.
India has repeatedly rejected Trudeau’s allegations as "absurd" and "malicious," insisting that the Canadian government has provided no concrete evidence linking India to Nijjar's death. As the diplomatic situation worsened, Canadian authorities subsequently declared Verma a "person of interest" in cases involving coercion and intimidation, effectively making him ‘persona non grata’ in Canada.
In retaliation, India recalled Verma along with five of his staff from Ottawa and expelled six Canadian diplomats, including the acting Canadian High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler.