Babbar Khalsa man charged with helping Indian terror groups

A 39-year-old member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) from US' Nevada state has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terror groups in India and Pakistan.

Balwinder Singh, 39, a member of terrorist organisations BKI and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), was charged with one count of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and fraud among other things, according to a Department of Justice statement.

Singh was arrested Dec 17 in Reno, and will appear before a US judge Dec 20 for an initial appearance and arraignment.

He was charged with providing material support to terrorist groups in India and Pakistan in order to intimidate the Indian government and to harm people who were not supporting their cause, said the statement.

The case is being investigated by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in northern Nevada.

"After an extensive investigation, the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) of northern Nevada has disrupted an individual's involvement in facilitation activities in support of a foreign terrorist organisation, targeting an ally of the US," said Laura A. Bucheit, special agent in charge of the FBI for Nevada.

According to the indictment, Singh was a citizen of India who fled to the US and claimed asylum and eventually obtained a permanent resident card.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count.

The indictment said Singh had used a false identity and obtained false identification documents in the US so that he could travel back to India without being apprehended by Indian authorities.

He had communicated with other co-conspirators by telephone while he was in the US to discuss acts of terrorism to be carried out in India.

It was also alleged that Singh sent money from Reno to co-conspirators in India for the purchase of weapons to support acts of terrorism in India.

Singh traveled from the US to Pakistan, India and other countries to meet co-conspirators to assist in the planning of terrorism in India, and he also gave advice to co-conspirators on how to carry out acts of terrorism, the indictment said.

The indictment, however, contains only charges and was not evidence of guilt, the statement said.