A Sikh activist who has been a central figure organising Khalistan referendums claims he narrowly survived an attempted murder when the pick-up truck he was in was hit by “a spray of bullets” while driving on a California freeway.

Satinder Pal Singh Raju, a close associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – the activist who was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Canada – was a passenger on California 1-505 Freeway when a white Honda Civic sped alongside. Without warning, a volley of bullets came from the Honda, Raju said.

Several bullets struck Raju’s truck but he and two companions in the vehicle escaped unhurt.

The alleged gun attack on Raju came a day after Canadian police reported that the residence of Raghbir Nijjar, a former president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara that Hardeep Singh Nijjar led, was fired upon in Surrey, British Columbia.

Speaking about the California attack, Raju told the Canadian daily the National Post: “When the first shot was fired, I got nervous and ducked. Another round of shots came” and “our car skidded off the highway.”

A California-based TV channel said the vehicle ended up in a ditch and the three occupants fled. “There was a field nearby and we abandoned the car and ran toward the field for safety,” Raju recounted.

Raju claims he is “100 per cent sure” the Indian government was behind what he says was an attempt on his life, a claim India has consistently denied in relation to such attacks.

Raju’s charges were echoed by Canadian-American lawyer activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who is said to have been the target of a failed Indian assassination attempt, according to allegations filed in a New York court by the city prosecutor. “It is an incident that is not standalone,” said Pannun.

Indian government sources, however, point to a feud between jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and other underworld elements that may have been involved in any attack on Raju.

The Canadian police also believe the firing on the residence of Raghbir Nijjar may be connected to a series of extortion-related shootings targeting Indo-Canadian businesses and individuals over the past year.

Hardeep Nijjar’s murder in June 2023 has strained badly relations between New Delhi and Ottawa.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons in September 2023 alleging a possible link between Indian agents and the killing was dismissed by India as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Canadian investigators have since charged four Indian nationals with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, though no evidence has yet been provided linking them to Indian agents.

Separately, the US Justice Department has charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to hire a hitman to murder Pannun at the behest of an Indian intelligence official. Gupta has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York with Indian officials denying any involvement in the alleged plot.

Sikhs targeted

In an article this month, the news agency Reuters said it had spoken to 19 Sikh community leaders, including three elected US officials, who said that they or their organisations have been targeted with threats and harassment in the US and Canada over the last year.

Reuters said many of the threats originated from anonymous accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter. Others came from unknown phone numbers and anonymous text messages. Reuters said it had been unable to determine the origin of the threats.

Raju, Pannan and Nijjar were all designated as terrorists by the Indian government which says their activities threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Raju, who lives in Sacramento, showed US reporters four holes from bullets he said had struck the driver’s window of the car. He said he instinctively ducked when the firing began.

The incident, which is said to have occurred on August 11, is still being investigated by Sacramento police, who have yet to indicate who might have been behind the shooting.

Raju heads a US-based pro-Khalistan organisation called Sikhs for Justice that has been labelled a terrorist group by the Indian government. He is said to have been deeply involved in efforts to hold a referendum on an independent Khalistan. He stayed in Surrey where Nijjar was assassinated for three months organising a referendum. The referendum was held in Surrey three months after Nijjar’s killing. The vote was held despite the Indian government voicing its opposition to the Canadian government about the event, saying it could fan separatist sentiments.

On a different note, Ramanjit Singh, accused of being the mastermind of the 2016 Nabha jailbreak, was extradited to India from Hong Kong on Friday.