In recent years, a dark pattern has emerged from intelligence circles across the globe. India’s top spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has been repeatedly accused of targeting dissidents, especially Sikh separatists, far beyond its borders. From plots in North America to surveillance operations in Europe, RAW’s activities have pushed India into an uncomfortable spotlight and for the first time, the world is beginning to take seriously what Pakistan has warned about for decades: India is using its intelligence agency not just for gathering information, but for carrying out attacks and intimidation abroad.
One of the most disturbing cases was of the United States. In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Vikash Yadav, whom it described as a former officer in the intelligence agency of India, RAW. He was charged with coordinating a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, in New York. The FBI arrested the hitman, Nikhil Gupta, in Prague and later extradited him to the U.S. According to official American sources, Gupta acted “at the direction of an Indian government employee.” Devices recovered from Gupta showed extensive contact with Yadav, proving that this was not a freelance act, it was a state-guided operation. The FBI warned it would not allow any foreign power to threaten people living in the U.S. for expressing their views.
A year earlier, in June 2023, another case shocked the world. In Canada, Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in British Columbia. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood before his parliament and directly blamed Indian government agents for the murder. This led to a diplomatic storm between India and Canada, with both sides expelling each other’s diplomats. Canada later charged four men with Nijjar’s murder, all of them Canadian citizens of Indian origin. India responded with denials, calling the accusations “absurd,” but refused to cooperate fully with Canada’s investigation.
These two cases, one in the U.S., the other in Canada, were not isolated. Around the same time, reports emerged from Europe and Australia exposing similar patterns. In Germany, federal police arrested individuals in Sikh-majority areas who were allegedly recruited by RAW. In one case, a couple running a Sikh cultural website was found to be secretly working for Indian intelligence. In Australia, The Guardian reported that two RAW officers were quietly expelled back in 2020 after they were caught spying on local communities and trying to influence politicians. Even the UK’s MI5 had raised alarms about RAW harassing Sikh activists in Birmingham and other cities during the 2010s.
Taken together, these cases paint a troubling picture. RAW is not just monitoring diaspora groups. It is allegedly planning assassinations, paying agents, and building spy networks across sovereign countries. These are not rogue incidents, they appear to be part of a deliberate and growing trend. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noticed this too. In its March 2025 report, it recommended the U.S. government impose sanctions on RAW for its “alleged involvement in plots to assassinate Sikh separatists.” This was an unprecedented step against an intelligence agency of a supposed democratic Ally.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s own investigations support these global concerns. In June 2025, Pakistani authorities announced a major crackdown on what they called a RAW-backed terror network. Ten suspects were arrested, four in Karachi, six in Punjab, with weapons, IED components, and mobile phones seized. Authorities said they had intercepted audio messages from supposed RAW officers giving instructions to bomb a mosque and a railway station. The mobile phones reportedly had geo-tagging software and videos of sensitive Pakistani installations. Investigators also found links to a BSF colonel and RAW handlers in Dubai. Pakistani officials believe this operation foiled a major attack on Pakistani soil.
For years, Pakistan has pointed to India’s covert operations within its borders. But now, the international community is beginning to see the same tactics being used in Western democracies. What was once dismissed as a regional rivalry is now becoming a global security concern.
India continues to deny everything. Its Ministry of External Affairs claims all allegations are false, politically motivated, or based on weak evidence. After the USCIRF report, an Indian spokesperson said the panel had a “deliberate agenda.” In response to the U.S. case, India said the accused officer was “no longer an employee” of the government, though it refused to say whether he ever worked for RAW.
However, facts are hard to ignore. When governments as cautious as the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Australia take action, indictments, arrests, expulsions, it shows something serious is happening. These are not anti-India countries. In fact, most of them have strong ties with New Delhi, especially in trade and defense. Yet they are now grappling with a difficult reality: one of their close partners may be using espionage and violence to target political opponents overseas.
This is what experts call “transnational repression”, when a state hunts its critics across borders. India’s actions, if proven true, would place it in disturbing category and that raises a difficult question: Can the world continue to treat India as a democratic Ally while ignoring its intelligence operations that violate international law?
For too long, Western governments have turned a blind eye to Indian activities abroad, either out of strategic interest or economic ambition but the tide is turning. With growing evidence, mounting public pressure, and global awareness, the silence may finally be breaking. It is time the world paid attention to Pakistan’s repeated warnings. RAW’s footprint is no longer limited to South Asia. It is now a global threat to human rights, sovereignty, and democratic norms. Ignoring it will only embolden further repression.
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