LONDON: A staunch follower of Hindutva ideology and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) activist from New Jersey is facing up to ten years in prison after being charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for threatening to kill and behead several American Sikhs, just a day before the Khalistan referendum vote in Brampton, Canada on September 18, 2022, over their political views on Khalistan.
Stirred by the publicity surrounding the Khalistan referendum campaign in Canada in September 2022, Bhushan Athale, 48, of Burlington County and District of New Jersey, sent several voice notes and text messages to an American Sikh non-profit organization and its three Sikh employees and threatened to decapitate them with a razor and publicly lynch them for allegedly supporting the Khalistan movement.
Athale threatened to kill three Sikhs, including a Sikh worker and two Sikh men. Using anti-Sikh slurs often used by Hindutva supporters of the BJP and RSS, Bhushan Athale insulted Sikhs and disrespected their religious beliefs, calling them inferior and worthy of punishment. Athale also threatened to kill a Muslim of Pakistani origin, according to the unclassified US indictment.
He has been charged with one count of interfering with federally protected activities by threatening to use a dangerous weapon and one count of transmitting an interstate threat to injure another person. The FBI investigation revealed that this was not the first time Athale had targeted people based on his hatred of their religion, as in November 2021, Athale had sent hate messages to his Muslim coworker in Nebraska expressing his animosity towards them.
According to the criminal complaint, on or about September 17, 2022, Athale made a phone call to a Sikh organization that advocates for the civil rights of Sikh people in the United States. Over the next hour, Athale left seven voicemails expressing extreme hatred toward Sikh people working at the NGO and threatening to hurt or kill those people with a knife.
Athale's voicemails, filled with violent imagery and obscenities, contained references to places, people, and principles that are particularly significant within the Sikh religion. Among other things, Athale stated his intention to “trap” Sikhs into the organization, forcibly “shave” the “top and bottom hair” of these individuals, use a “razor” to forcibly “cut” the hair of these individuals and “make them” bald, “force” them to smoke and eat tobacco, and “show” them that they are not Sikhs. [them] heaven”.
The Hindutva activist asked a Sikh woman why she and the Sikhs wanted Khalistan and started cursing and threatening her until she hung up the phone.
On 17 September 2002, he said in a message: “If you want Khalistan, I will catch one of you, shave your hair from top to bottom; if you want Khalistan, I will give you Khalistan, I will catch each and every Sikh and cut his or her hair; if you want Khalistan, you son of a bitch, I will catch every Sikh for supporting Khalistan; if you want Khalistan, we will cut your hair for free; we need every Sikh in Punjab and India for supporting Khalistan; we will catch and cut the hair of every Sikh everywhere; I will make sure that every Sikh is bald and we will catch every Sikh and make a donation.”
Athale's threats continued till March 2024. In another threatening voice note, he praised Indian Prime Minister Modi and urged him to confiscate the properties of Sikhs so that “they can make Khalistan a place like Canada.” He urged Modi to kill both Muslims and Sikhs.
The Hindutva supporter also sent messages to a former co-worker of Pakistani origin that he “hated”[d] Pakistan” and “hate[d] Muslims,” and told the co-worker, “I hate you, I just don’t know how to kill your entire family, including you. Tell me? I’ll figure it out.” […] I will probably hire a Jew; he will be very happy.”
In March 2023, Athale called the same Sikh organization again and left two more voice messages. In these messages, Athale again used violent imagery to express his hatred towards Sikhs and Muslims, suggesting, among other things, that the Indian government and Mumbai police should “catch them, beat them up and rape their family members.”
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, founder and leader of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and chief coordinator of the Khalistan referendum campaign, said that Bhushan Athale is a follower of Modi’s violent Hindutva ideology, who was arrested and charged in New Jersey for threatening American Sikhs over Khalistani religious and political views. Pannun said, “The threats were initiated just a day before the Khalistan referendum vote in Canada. This once again shows that Modi’s India uses violent transnational repression to suppress dissenting political opinion while Sikhs believe in the democratic process of voting to free Punjab from Indian occupation.”
Athale now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for interfering with federally protected activities and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for transmitting an interstate threat. Both charges also carry a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
