The White House, responding to a question on the assassination plot of Sikh separatist leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on US soil, said that the Indian government is taking the matter very seriously and that they will continue to raise their concerns with the Indian government.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s remarks came after an investigative media report claimed that a RAW official identified as Vikram Yadav was involved in the Pannun assassination plot, and the move was approved by Samant Goel, who led the Indian spy agency.
Jean-Pierre said an investigation is underway and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is running a criminal investigation. She said that anything specific to that would have to be referred to the DOJ.
The press secretary said that India is an important strategic partner and that they are “pursuing an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation in several areas".
"We've been really consistent about that and have laid that out multiple times, whether it's a meeting here with the prime minister or a meeting abroad. This is a serious matter and we're taking that very very seriously. The Government of India has been very clear with us that they are taking this seriously and will investigate," Jean-Pierre said, in reference to the investigation.
"We expect accountability from the government based on that. But we are going to continue to raise our concerns. That's not going to stop. We're going to continue to raise our concerns directly, with the Indian government," the press secretary added.
Her comments come after a report by The Washington Post named the RAW official involved in the assassination plot of Pannun. According to the report, Vikram Yadav, now with a different government organisation, forwarded details about Pannun, including his New York address.
GURPATWANT SINGH PANNUN ASSASSINATION PLOT
The assassination plot of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who was declared a terrorist by the Indian government, was reported by the Financial Times in November 2022. It stated that the US had reportedly warned India about the involvement of an Indian official in the assassination plot. India denied the allegations.
Following this, an indictment was filed at a Manhattan court, that identified an Indian man, Nikhil Gupta, of working with the unnamed Indian official to kill Pannun. The indictment referred to the official as CC-1, who reportedly directed the plot to kill Pannun, and had hired Gupta.
The Washington Post has now identified CC-1 as Vikram Yadav.
Nikhil Gupta was eventually arrested in the Czech Republic, after he paid an assassin to carry out the plot. The assassination plot coincided with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. That operation, too, is believed to be linked with Yadav.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had last week confirmed that a high-level committee was set to look into the information that the US shared with the government.