Indian native in the US could get 15 years in jail for Punjab terror plot

Prosecutors say he worked with two terrorist orgs to try to establish an independent Sikh state

A citizen of India who received asylum in the US and lived in northern Nevada is facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to plot terror strikes in his home country on the border with Pakistan.

Balwinder Singh's sentencing is scheduled this afternoon in federal court in Reno.

Prosecutors say he worked with two terrorist organisations to try to establish an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

They say he sought asylum in San Francisco using a false identity to elude Indian authorities when travelling back to his home country.

The government is seeking the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison with the possibly of lifetime supervision upon his release.

His lawyers argue he was tortured by government officials in India and was never a threat to the United States.