Indian sentenced to 15 years in US prison for plotting attack on Indo-Pak border

FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse says the plot was foiled

An Indian citizen residing in northern Nevada was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the United States after pleading guilty to plotting terror attacks near the India-Pakistan border.

FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse of Las Vegas said the plot was foiled after a co-conspirator was arrested trying to board a flight in San Francisco bound for Bangkok, with two sets of night vision goggles purchased by Balwinder Singh at a sporting goods store in Reno.

US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno on Tuesday also ordered Singh, 41, to remain under lifetime federal supervision upon his release from prison after prosecutors argued that the accused has had ties to known terrorist groups in India for more than two decades.



"This is such an incredibly serious offense," Hicks said.

Considering Singh has already spent three years in custody, the 41-year-old should be released in about 10 years if he earns good credit, according to assistant US Attorney Brian Sullivan. "This isn't somebody who was just recruited like some of the young people who think it's really cool to go get involved with the Jihad," Sullivan said. "Singh has been involved with terrorism or terrorist organisations for over 20 years."

"We are hoping he has learned a lesson. But we think he needs to be watched not just for three or four years, but for his entire lifetime," he added.

Singh’s defence council, Michael Kennedy, maintains that he is of no harm to the US. He further claimed that Indian government officials had tortured him. "It will be up to an immigration judge to decide whether to send someone back to a country where he has been tortured or whether we as a country still stand in opposition to those sort of things," Kennedy said. He wants Singh’s post release supervision to be reduced to five years.



Singh agreed to plead guilty in a deal which dropped other charges, including conspiracy to murder, kidnap or maim persons in a foreign country.

"My only request is I should not be deported. I should be released here," Singh said during the hearing.

Singh had used a false identity to seek refuge in the US to allude Indian authorities, said the US attorney for Nevada, Daniel Bogden. Singh managed to obtain a permanent residence card.

"These groups engage in violent crimes in India to intimidate and compel the Indian government to create the state of Khalistan," Bogden told reporters. "These groups also target for assassination persons who are considered traitors of the Sikh religion and government officials who it considers responsible for atrocities against the Sikhs."

This story originally appeared on ABC News.