The government’s security minister will meet with a cross-party group of MPs to discuss the safety of Sikh activists residing in the United Kingdom.
Concerns were voiced, according to Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, after a “intelligence hit list” surfaced on several Indian media outlets.
She said, “It mentioned about 20 Sikhs who are not residents of India and called them enemies of the state.”
She mentioned six British Sikhs, some of whom are currently under police protection.
There will be a meeting on Tuesday.
She clarified that some Sikh activists had received calls from the police informing them that their lives were in jeopardy.
The letters, which are also referred to as Osman warnings, are sent out by officers when they learn that someone’s life is in danger.
The Birmingham Edgbaston MP stated, “They have said they have experienced harassment, intimidation, and threats.”
“Those are the kinds of concerns we are witnessing regarding transnational repression and various states attempting to advance their ideologies here in the UK by stifling people’s voices and their right to speak out against violations of human rights,” the speaker stated.
Since evidence from Canada surfaced that the Indian government may have been involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was advocating for Khalistan, a breakaway Sikh homeland, Sikh activists have been on high alert.
An Indian man was also accused by US prosecutors in November of planning to murder at least four Sikh separatists in North America.
Last year, Avtar Singh Khanda, 35, passed away in Birmingham. He was well-known for having backed the formation of Khalistan, and some close to him suspected foul play.
After carefully reviewing the case, West Midlands Police stated that there were no suspicious circumstances and that a new investigation was not necessary.
The government’s assurance that it is, first and foremost, taking the necessary measures to support and safeguard the British Sikh community against any unlawful threats or attacks is what we really want from the securities minister, Ms. Gill stated.
The MP continued, “We have to make sure the government is taking this very seriously because these are British nationals.”
“However, in order for us to properly bring up these concerns with our Indian counterparts, they also need to really listen and hear these people’s accounts of what they’ve gone through.”
The UK government stated that it takes seriously the protection of people’s rights, freedoms, and safety, while the Indian embassy in London declined to comment.