India responded angrily on Tuesday to a Washington Post article on a purported plot to kill Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.
The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, described the report as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” and stated, “The High Level Committee, which was established by the Indian government to investigate security concerns shared by the US government regarding networks of terrorists, organized crime, and other groups, is currently conducting an investigation. Remarks that are speculative and careless are not beneficial, he said.
The MEA’s response coincided with a Washington Post “investigative” article alleging that a RAW official named Vikram Yadav was complicit in the so-called assassination plot of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, with the move sanctioned by the then-head of the Indian espionage agency, Samant Goel.
One of the key figures in the Khalistan movement, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, serves as the spokesperson and legal counsel for Sikhs for Justice, an organization that advocates for the creation of a distinct Sikh state. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is now considered a terrorist by the Indian government.
On Monday, the White House stated that India is considering the allegations of a plan to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun seriously. Nevertheless, it declined to comment on the Department of Justice’s criminal case and the FBI’s investigation into the incident, according to a news agency.
In response to inquiries over The Washington Post report, press secretary for the White House Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was conducting a criminal inquiry and that an investigation was in progress.
The June 18, 2017, shooting death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, coincided with the purported conspiracy to assassinate Pannun in the US.
