Dr. Jasmeet Bains, an addiction physician and the first Sikh American woman elected to the California Assembly, experienced a disturbing threat last August. This occurred a few months after California passed her resolution declaring the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in India as genocide. Four men of apparent Indian descent warned her that she would be targeted, an event captured on video.
Since then, Bains has been inundated with over 100 threatening text messages, noticed surveillance of her Bakersfield home, and had her mailbox lock tampered with multiple times. She reported these issues to local police and the state Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms. After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s September statement about credible evidence linking the Indian government to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, Bains was advised by the Sergeant-at-Arms to take additional security measures. In October, the FBI contacted her regarding these threats.
To protect herself, Bains now screens her phone calls, avoids traveling alone, and sometimes requests security details for official events, which has significantly affected her independence.
Reuters also found that 19 Sikh community leaders, including three U.S. officials, reported facing threats and harassment over the past year. This includes online abuse, surveillance of homes and places of worship, doxxing, and "swatting" — making false reports to incite law enforcement action. Seven Sikh activists mentioned receiving warnings from the FBI or Royal Canadian Mounted Police about potential threats, although details were often vague.
In response to inquiries from The Indian Express, the FBI confirmed issuing warnings based on credible threats but did not provide specific details. Canadian federal police also did not disclose the number of threats issued. The FBI has warned the Sikh community about "transnational repression" and encouraged reporting such threats. It has also held private meetings with Sikh advocacy groups to address these issues.
In Canada, four Indian nationals face charges for the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot outside his gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department has charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with attempting to arrange the murder of separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Gupta has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
India has denied involvement in these incidents and has promised to investigate the plot against Pannun, but not Nijjar. India's High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, has labeled Nijjar a "designated terrorist."
The threats have originated from anonymous social media accounts on platforms like X, as well as unknown phone numbers and text messages. While the exact source of these threats remains unclear, some Sikh activists suspect connections to the Indian government or its supporters, though proving this is difficult.
Kanwarpal Singh, political secretary of the Punjab-based Dal Khalsa group, has accused the Indian government of attempting to discredit Sikh separatists both in India and abroad. The Indian embassy in Washington and Prime Minister Modi’s office did not respond to queries about these threats or the ongoing criminal cases.
Freedom House’s Nate Schenkkan described the situation as a severe case of transnational repression, with a major state using extensive measures to suppress dissent beyond its borders. Harjap Singh Japhi, a Sikh activist in Indiana, reported receiving threats and having his personal information exposed online following an FBI inquiry into his Sikh advocacy activities.
In response, Bains introduced a bill in May to train California law enforcement in identifying and addressing transnational repression. She believes that if she is facing these challenges, others in the community may be as well, highlighting a broader issue.