Seeking accountability from India for ‘Pannun plot’, says US
Seeking accountability from India for ‘Pannun plot’, says US
New Delhi: The US Wednesday sought accountability from India over the alleged murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Responding to a query by ThePrint at an online press briefing, Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, who had visited India last week, said Washington has “consistently asked for updates” on the high-level committee set up by New Delhi to investigate the allegations about the involvement of Indian officials.
“We have sought accountability and we have held constructive dialogue with India on this topic [the alleged plot] and they [India] have been responsive towards our concerns. We have consistently asked for updates. The issue has been raised at the highest levels of leadership,” Campbell said in response to the query.
Incidentally, Campbell, while responding to another query, said that India is looking at “institutional reforms” that are needed to prevent such a situation from occurring again.
His comments come after Indian national Nikhil Gupta was extradited to the US earlier this month from Czechia to face charges in connection with the alleged plot.
This plot, first revealed by the US justice department in November 2023, allegedly involved Gupta and an official of the Government of India conspiring to kill Pannun, the founder of the pro-Khalistan organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who has been designated a terrorist by India.
Gupta allegedly attempted to hire an assassin for $100,000. The alleged hitman was in fact an agent of the US authorities. According to media reports, Gupta was lured out of India by American authorities and was arrested by Czech authorities on arriving in Prague on 30 June 2023.
Earlier this year, his appeals against extradition to the US failed. Accordingly, on 14 June, he was extradited to New York City, where he was produced before a federal court on 17 June.
The Indian government instituted a high-level inquiry committee into the allegations raised by American authorities on 18 November 2023. New Delhi has maintained that Washington, D.C. has provided specific information that requires a proper investigation, which is different from the case of Canada — another western country accusing Indian officials of being linked to the killing of one its citizens.
ThePrint had earlier reported that the Pannun issue was raised by the US during the visit by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Campbell.
At the time, government sources said the Indian side could brief Sullivan on what the high-level probe committee set up by the Modi government had found and action taken thereafter. The sources, however, would not elaborate on what the committee had unearthed so far.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)