US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Washington:
The United States is “regularly working” with India in its investigation into the allegations associated to the plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US State Department official has stated.
The remarks by US State Department Principal Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel got here after The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in reference to the alleged plot to kill Pannun on American soil final yr.
India on Tuesday strongly rejected the claims, saying that the report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a critical matter and that an investigation into the case was underway.
Addressing his day by day information convention on Tuesday, Mr Patel stated, “We continue to expect accountability from the Government of India based on the results of the Indian inquiry committee’s work, and we are regularly working with them and enquiring for additional updates.”
“We’ll also continue to raise our concerns directly with the Indian Government at senior levels, but beyond that, I’m not going to parse into this further and will defer to the Department of Justice,” Mr Patel stated when requested about The Washington Post report, which recognized the RAW officer as Vikram Yadav and alleged that he was concerned within the plot to assassinate Pannun.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday slammed the report by the US day by day.
“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” he stated in New Delhi.
Mr Jaiswal stated a high-level inquiry committee arrange by New Delhi to look into inputs offered by the US on the alleged plot was nonetheless probing the case.
“There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the Government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others,” he stated.
“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” Mr Jaiswal added.
In November final yr, US federal prosecutors charged Indian nationwide Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian authorities worker within the foiled plot to kill Pannun.
Pannun, needed in India on terror prices, holds twin citizenship of the US and Canada. He has been designated as a terrorist by the Union house ministry beneath the anti-terror regulation Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The allegations in regards to the failed plot to kill Pannun got here to the fore weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed in September final yr of a “potential” involvement of Indian brokers within the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
India had strongly rejected the costs.
On December 7, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated in Parliament that India instituted an inquiry committee to look into the inputs obtained from the US within the Pannun case because the matter has a bearing on nationwide safety.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)