Already the Indian government has been under intensifying international scrutiny in the wake of the June murder of Canadian Sikh separatist and activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Canada accused Indian intelligence of being behind the plot, sending relations between the two countries to a historical low point, as each side has also removed diplomats.

Now a similar episode is playing out on United States soil. Federal prosecutors allege that an Indian government official was behind a failed assassination plot of a US citizen which was to take place in New York City.