Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot: US says it expects accountability from Indian govt

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot: The United States has said that it expects accountability from India on allegations of the involvement of government officials in the assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. This comes after India dismissed a report by The Washington Post that named RAW officer Vikram Yadav for his involvement in the assassination plot of Pannun. 

US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel, addressing the media said, "We continue to expect accountability from the Government of India based on the results of the Indian enquiry committee's work, and we are regularly working with them and enquiring for additional updates." "We'll also continue to raise our concerns directly with the Indian Government at senior levels, but beyond that, I'm not going to parse into this further and will defer to the Department of Justice," he said. 

The Washington Post identified the previously unnamed government official as Vikram Yadav. It said that the operation was approved by then RAW chief Samant Goel. The report stated that Yadav had provided details about Pannun, including his New York address. 

The Washington Post report added that Goel was under “extreme pressure to eliminate the alleged threat of Sikh extremists overseas”. 

India has earlier dismissed reports of its involvement in the assassination plot of the Khalistani terrorist, who was declared a terrorist by the government. In response to The Washington Post report, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, in a media briefing, stated that “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter” were made by the report.

“There is an ongoing investigation of the High Level Committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others. Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” said Randhir Jaiswal. 

These developments are in continuation of the arrest of Indian national Nikhil Gupta by US federal prosecutors in November last year. Gupta was charged with working with an Indian government employee in the plot to kill Pannun. 

The Pannun assassination attempt allegations surfaced soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed the potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.