NEW DELHI: The United States on Wednesday sought accountability from India over the alleged murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The US has consistently pressed India for updates on the investigation into the alleged foiled plot, a senior Biden administration official said.
US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said the US raised the issue directly at the most senior levels of the Indian government.“We have had constructive dialogue with India on this topic and I would say that they have been responsive to our concerns,” he said.
Campbell and US national security advisor Jake Sullivan were on a visit to India last week.
“We’ve made clear that we seek accountability from the Government of India and we have consistently asked for updates on the Indian committee of inquiry’s investigations,” the senior official said. “And I would just simply say that we raised this issue directly with the Indian government … at the most senior levels between our two sides,” Campbell said as quoted by news agency PTI.
Campbell was responding to a question on whether the ‘murder-for-hire’ plot targeting Pannun was raised during meetings that he and Sullivan held with their Indian counterparts.
In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Pannun in New York.
Pannun, wanted in India on terror charges, holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.
Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited to the US on June 14.
Following the allegations by the US, India appointed a high-level inquiry committee to look into the inputs provided by the US on the plot.
According to The Washington Post, “Gupta, who had been detained in the Czech Republic, arrived in New York over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive legal proceedings. Typically, extradited defendants must appear in court within a day of their arrival in the country.”
US federal prosecutors have alleged that Gupta was working for an Indian official to facilitate the murder-for-hire plot against Pannun, and that he hired a hitman and paid $15,000 in advance. The US shared information about the official’s involvement with India, prompting the formation of a committee to investigate the case.
India has denied any involvement in the case and has launched its own investigation into the allegations. Gupta, through his attorney Rohini Musa, has also denied the charges, claiming that he has been “unfairly charged.”
In a petition to the Indian Supreme Court, Musa stated that there is “nothing on record to link the Petitioner to the massive alleged plot to assassinate the alleged victim.”
US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell said the US raised the issue directly at the most senior levels of the Indian government.“We have had constructive dialogue with India on this topic and I would say that they have been responsive to our concerns,” he said.
Campbell and US national security advisor Jake Sullivan were on a visit to India last week.
“We’ve made clear that we seek accountability from the Government of India and we have consistently asked for updates on the Indian committee of inquiry’s investigations,” the senior official said. “And I would just simply say that we raised this issue directly with the Indian government … at the most senior levels between our two sides,” Campbell said as quoted by news agency PTI.
Campbell was responding to a question on whether the ‘murder-for-hire’ plot targeting Pannun was raised during meetings that he and Sullivan held with their Indian counterparts.
In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Pannun in New York.
Pannun, wanted in India on terror charges, holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.
Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited to the US on June 14.
Following the allegations by the US, India appointed a high-level inquiry committee to look into the inputs provided by the US on the plot.
According to The Washington Post, “Gupta, who had been detained in the Czech Republic, arrived in New York over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive legal proceedings. Typically, extradited defendants must appear in court within a day of their arrival in the country.”
US federal prosecutors have alleged that Gupta was working for an Indian official to facilitate the murder-for-hire plot against Pannun, and that he hired a hitman and paid $15,000 in advance. The US shared information about the official’s involvement with India, prompting the formation of a committee to investigate the case.
India has denied any involvement in the case and has launched its own investigation into the allegations. Gupta, through his attorney Rohini Musa, has also denied the charges, claiming that he has been “unfairly charged.”
In a petition to the Indian Supreme Court, Musa stated that there is “nothing on record to link the Petitioner to the massive alleged plot to assassinate the alleged victim.”
Source Agencies
