Our Bureau
Washington
The United States has expressed its satisfaction and willingness to wait for the outcome of the investigation announced by India about the alleged involvement of an Indian official in a plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader based out of the US. The US has not named the separatist however it is believed to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as per reports.
Matthew Miller, State Department spokesperson stated, “I wouldn’t comment on the underlying substance because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter and it would be inappropriate for me to do so when the DOJ (US Department of Justice) is presenting a case in court. We have noted at the most senior levels of this government, the Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously. They told us they would conduct an investigation. They have publicly announced an investigation and now we’ll wait to see the results of the investigation. It’s something we take very seriously.”
An Indian official has been linked to a man charged with conspiracy to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil, as per the American prosecutors.
As per the US government, Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national, has worked in connection with an Indian government employee, codenamed ‘CC-1’, to assassinate a “political activist” with US citizenship, residing in New York City. As per the Justice Department, CC-1 is an Indian government agency employee, described as a “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management” and “intelligence”. He had served in the Central Reserve Police Force, previously it said.
India termed it as a “matter of concern” and emphasized that follow-up action will be taken based on the findings of an investigation panel into the allegations.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State expressed appreciation for the fact that India has announced the launch of a probe into the matter stating, “The government announced that it was conducting an investigation, and that’s good and appropriate, and we look forward to seeing the results.”
The US also urged India to cooperate with an investigation by Canada about allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian national, as per Miller.
