Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder plot: Working with India to hold those responsible, says US

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder plot: The Joe Biden administration in the United States (US) said on Wednesday (Mar 20) that the US was working with India to hold people responsible for the alleged murder plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. During a Congressional hearing, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu was asked about this issue, the news agency ANI reported.

"This is a serious issue, a serious issue between the United States and India. The Department of Justice has alleged that an Indian citizen at the behest of someone working in the Indian government has attempted to kill an American citizen on American soil. We take this and the administration incredibly seriously and have raised it at the highest levels with India," Lu said.

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"We are at the moment working with India to encourage India to hold accountable those responsible for this terrible crime. What we can see is that India itself has announced that they have created a committee of inquiry to look into this matter and we ask them to work quickly and transparently to make sure justice is done," he added.

Indian National Charged with Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Murder Plot

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has been designated a terrorist by New Delhi for advocating separatism and holding referendums overseas to carve out Khalistan- an independent Sikh state.

Pannun is known for his video messages shared on social media where he threatened the Indian government, ministers, and diplomats on several occasions.

Earlier, the US Justice Department said in an indictment that Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who is currently in custody, has been charged with murder-for-hire of Pannun. The Department claimed that an Indian government employee, who was not identified in the indictment, had recruited Gupta to hire a hitman to allegedly assassinate Pannun, but the plotwas foiled by Washington.

India finds rogue officials involved in Pannun murder plot: Report

Donald Lu's remarks about the Pannun murder plot came as an Indian investigation revealed that rogue officials, not authorised by New Delhi, were involved in the plot. Citing senior officials who chose to remain anonymous, Bloomberg reported that at least one person directly involved in the alleged plot is employed by the Indian government but is no longer working for India's foreign spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

New Delhi has submitted the findings of the government-appointed investigation panel to American authorities, the report added.

(With inputs from agencies)