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‘Hope India, US are listening to each other more clearly’: US envoy on Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Tahawwur Rana cases

‘Hope India, US are listening to each other more clearly’: US envoy on Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Tahawwur Rana cases

US envoy to India, Eric Garcetti said that the Indian and US law enforcement have never worked more closely with each other than in the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination case. 

Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India, speaks on Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Tahawwur Rana cases Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India, speaks on Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Tahawwur Rana cases

US envoy to India, Eric Garcetti, spoke about the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot, the extradition of Nikhil Gupta from Czech Republic in the same case, as well as the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Tahawwur Rana. 

In an exclusive interview with AajTak-India Today, Garcetti said that the Indian and US law enforcement have never worked more closely with each other than in the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination case. 

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“First and foremost, our law enforcement has never worked more closely with each other than it has now, whether it is the attacks on San Francisco consulate, whether it is transnational crime that occurs on both sides of the Indo-Pacific, sometimes with immigrants that come from here to the United States. I'm really impressed with the level of cooperation and coordination that has never existed before,” said Garcetti. 

On the Pannun case, Garcetti said there is an ongoing criminal case, and that the US has made its position very clear. “It's not what people say. It's what they do. And when there's criminal acts, we take those incredibly seriously. But attacks across the line, that is also something that is equally unacceptable,” he said. 

“I hope both India and the United States are listening to each other more clearly than ever before, that the concerns they have for security, for safety, and that Indian diplomats abroad, can be rest assured, we take any threats against them incredibly seriously while we uphold the rule of law in our country as well,” he said. 

Commenting on the extradition of Nikhil Gupta who is in the custody of the Czech Republic authorities, said that the accused is a central person in the case. Nikhil Gupta was hired to carry out the assassination attempt on Pannun. The Washington Post had identified RAW official Vikram Yadav as the individual who hired Gupta for the operation. India dismissed the reports and allegations. 

“While I can't comment on all the details in an ongoing criminal case, I think that is clear in the indictment that was put forward, anybody who would threaten to kill someone in any one of our countries, commits a crime and needs to pay a price for that,” he said adding that they are also working on the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India. 

Rana’s extradition, he said, is up to a court. “But all indications are that not only our coordination but our law enforcement agencies working together on this, should result in that. And I have a high level of confidence but I never predict a court before it is done. But, I am quite confident, yes,” he said. 

Rana faces charges related to the Mumbai attacks and is linked to Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley. Rana and Headley were apprehended on October 18, 2009  on charges of plotting an attack on the offices of Jyllands-Posten, a newspaper known for publishing controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.

Further investigation revealed that Rana had visited Mumbai and lodged at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, which was targeted in the November 2008 terrorist attacks. Rana, however, argues that his trip to India was for interviewing immigration candidates to Canada and the US, related to his immigration consultancy. He and his family insist that he has been wrongfully implicated by Headley.
 

Published on: May 15, 2024, 12:53 PM IST
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