US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Washington DC is taking “very seriously” the allegations that an Indian government official was involved in the ‘foiled plot’ to murder a US-based Sikh separatist.
Blinken told reporters: “I can say that this is something we take very seriously. A number of us have raised this directly with the Indian Government in past weeks.”
“The government announced today that it was conducting an investigation, and that’s good and appropriate, and we look forward to seeing the results,” he said.
White House spokesperson John Kirby also echoed similar remarks when he told reporters during a press briefing: “These allegations and this investigation, we take very seriously.”
He, however, said India remains a ‘strategic partner’ of the USA.
“We are going to continue to work to improve and strengthen that strategic partnership with India,” he said.
The US Department of Justice, earlier, issued a statement alleging to foil a plot from India to murder a US-based Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
In a statement on Wednesday (November 29, 2023), the US Attorney’s Office accused an Indian government employee of being part of the murder conspiracy.
The US Attorney’s Office has filed “murder-for-hire” and murder-for-hire conspiracy charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Indian government’s reaction
“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. We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue,” the Indian foreign ministry has said.
“In this context, it is informed that on November 18, the Government of India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter,” the ministry said.
India will take “necessary follow-up action” based on the findings of the committee, it added.
On November 20, the National Investigation Agency filed a case against Pannun, accusing him of issuing social media messages that said people flying with Air India were in danger.
He had also claimed that Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19.