British Sikhs received ‘threat to life’ warnings from cops – Times of India

LONDON: Several British Sikhs say they have received “threat to life” notices, also known as Osman warnings, from the British police alerting them of immediate danger.This has fuelled conspiracy theories that India could be behind the threats, given the court case against Nikhil Gupta in the US regarding an alleged plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, designated a terrorist by India, with Gupta allegedly recruited by an Indian government employee, as well allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about a “potential link” between Indian government agents and the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.An Osman warning is a police warning of a death threat. It is used when there is intelligence of the threat but not enough evidence to justify an arrest. The name derives from the Osman family which won a landmark judgment that police breached Ali Osman’s (a businessman who was shot dead) right to life as they had the information needed to deal with the threat.One Sikh man, whose brother and father were also handed Osman notices, told the UK’s Times he initially thought it came from “religious fundamentalists in the West Midlands” but following on from th eNijjar and Pannun cases, as well as a belief that pro-Khalistan separatist Avtar Singh Khanda was poisoned, he now believes there could be an “Indian government connection”.“An Indian government connection would make sense. I’ve posted stuff on Twitter and Instagram against the regime,” the man said.However, one Sikh told TOI that he believed the threats came from a radical UK Sikh outfit and there was no Indian government involvement.Dabinderjit Singh, principal adviser of the Sikh Federation (UK), also played down the role of India in these notices, saying: “Osman reports are often to do with domestic gang violence.” But he added: “Transnational repression by the Indian government is real and British Sikhs are being targeted.”Deepa Singh, of Sikh Youth UK, was escorted off the plane by 10 counter-terrorism officers at Gatwick airport on Christmas Day and interrogated under Schedule 7 of UK’s Terrorism Act 2000. He said he was targeted because he is “a Sikh activist”.A spokesperson for West Midlands Police told TOI: “We received information that suggested that members of a family may have been at risk of harm. We have processes in place when we receive information about threats to people, and in line with our duty of care, family members were made aware and advice was provided.”