Gun charges against Brampton Sikh activist have been suspended

A leading activist for the creation of a Sikh homeland has seen gun charges against him paused.

An Ontario court has stayed the charges against Inderjeet Singh Gosal of Brampton for one year after he was arrested along with two others last September and charged with several offences, including carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon.

The charges against the two others were dropped earlier, but the case continued against Gosal until late last month, when the court decided to suspend the proceedings.

The stay means a criminal prosecution is paused or suspended, putting the case on hold rather than immediately dropping it. The Crown prosecutor has one year to restart the case, or it becomes a final end to the proceedings. While charges are stayed, there is no formal conviction, but the record may still impact travel, background checks, and employment.

Before the arrest, Gosal went public with his claim that he is a target of a murder plot because of his commitment to the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. He has blamed the Indian government for plotting against him. He said the RCMP offered to provide him with protection, but he has refused.

A member of Sikhs for Justice, Gosal has been a vocal proponent of the independence movement, and his profile has risen since Hardeep Singh Nijjar, one of his close associates, was gunned down in Surrey, B.C., in 2023. Gosal and others in the Sikh community believe the Indian government is responsible for Nijjar’s death.

Gosal is also connected to the New York leader of Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who was also a target in a failed assassination attempt.

In February of 2024, police investigated after shots were fired into Gosal’s Brampton home.

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