“Indian Official Conspired…” US Blames Indian Officials For Plot Against Khalistani Separatist
US officials have stated that the Indian authorities directed a failed plot to assassinate a Sikh separationist in US. The US Justice department said on Wednesday while announcing the charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder, reports Reuters.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Nikhil Gupta worked with the Indian government employee on the plot to assassinate a Sikh separationist, who was residing in the New York city.
But the authorities didn’t name the Indian official name nor the target, but revealed that the accused is a US citizen of Indian origin. The target has been identified as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of Sikhs for Justice, a pro-Khalishtan group campaigning for an independent Sikh state.
“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,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the US charging Indian Nikhil Gupta for ‘hire-to-murder’ and said that India needs to take this seriously. Trudeau said. “The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we”ve been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously,” Justin Trudeau said in Ottawa, as reported by Reuters. He also added that the Indian government needs to work with Canada to ensure that they are able to get into the bottom of the issue.
India has set up a high-level inquiry committee to look into the allegation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that India will take “necessary follow up actions” based on the findings.
“We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to Nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others”
India will take such inputs seriously as it affects the national security interests as well and relevant departments are already examining the issue, MEA added.
