India Institutes High-Level Inquiry into Plot to Kill Pannun in US
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 29: The Ministry of External Affairs has instituted a “high-level inquiry committee” to look into inputs from the United States government on reports of the alleged involvement of Indians in a plot to target a Khalistani leader in the U.S.
The committee was constituted after in a direct insinuation to the Government of India the US Justice Department filed an indictment against Indians, including an “Indian govt. employee” for an alleged foiled plot to assassinate U.S. citizen and Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The New York-based Financial Times had on November 22 reported that the U.S. government thwarted a plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on U.S. soil, and “warned” New Delhi about its alleged involvement in the plot. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Wednesday India constituted a high-level inquiry committee on November 18 to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter.
“We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others,” Bagchi said.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that an “Indian Government employee directed a plot from India to murder U.S.-based leader of Sikh separatist movement.” It further announces the filing of murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, whom they have alleged was recruited by an Indian government agency employee to carry out the assassination.
Nikhil Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in June and is awaiting extradition. The statement goes into details regarding the government employee, claimed to be a former CRPF officer, who established contact with Nikhil Gupta in May 2023. Gupta is also quoted describing Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canada-based slain Khalistani, as one of the many targets. Nijjar was shot dead outside Gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18 this year.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethno-religious minority group in India. I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralized this deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.
The charges come after a senior Joe Biden administration official last week said the US authorities had thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved. The official said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who says he is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, was the target of the foiled plot.
Prosecutors did not name the target of Gupta’s alleged plot, who they described as a vocal critic of the Indian government who leads a U.S.-based organization that advocates for the secession of India’s Punjab state, which is home to a large population of Sikhs.
News of the incident comes two months after Canada said there were “credible” allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb, a charge India has rejected.
