U.S. talks to India about possible link to murder plot against Sikh leader
New Delhi — U.S. officials have spoken with their counterparts in India about allegations that the South Asian nation may have been involved in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on U.S. soil, the U.S. National Security Council said Wednesday. The plot targeted Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-Canadian dual national designated a terrorist by India's government, according to the Financial Times, which first reported on the story Wednesday.
The FT, citing anonymous sources, said "U.S. authorities thwarted" the murder conspiracy and "issued a warning to India's government over concerns it was involved in the plot."
The NSC, in a statement provided Wednesday to CBS News, said it was treating the matter "with utmost seriousness."
"It has been raised by the U.S. Government with the Indian Government, including at the senior-most levels," NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in the statement when asked about the FT report.
"Indian counterparts expressed surprise and concern. They stated that activity of this nature was not their policy. Based on discussion with senior U.S. Government officials, we understand the Indian government is further investigating this issue and will have more to say about it in the coming days," Watson said, adding that the Biden administration had "conveyed our expectation that anyone deemed responsible should be held accountable."
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and the Khalistan movement
Pannun was born in India's predominantly Sikh Punjab province, but he left his home country decades ago. He's the head of the New York-based organization Sikhs for Justice, which he founded in 2007 to advocate for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India and known as Khalistan.
The Indian government banned Pannun's organization in 2019 for "anti-India activities" and declared him a terrorist. Just two days before the FT report on the alleged murder plot, India's leading counterterrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), registered a new case against Pannun over recent social media posts in which he called upon Sikhs to stop flying Air India.
He said in one video that people's "lives could be in danger" if they chose to fly on India's national carrier, but he didn't say why.
The FT said it was not clear "whether the [U.S.] protest to New Delhi led the plotters to abandon their plan" or if U.S. law enforcement had intervened to foiled thwart the plan.
The Indian government acknowledged in a Wednesday statement that U.S. officials had "shared some inputs" about common security concerns, which it said it was taking seriously.
"During the course of recent discussions on India-U.S. security cooperation, the U.S. side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others. The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow up action," Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India's foreign affairs ministry, said in the statement.
"India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well," he added.
U.S. federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one suspect in the plot, according to the FT report.
The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada
The alleged plot against Pannun came to light just two months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was "credible" evidence of an Indian government role in the murder of another Sikh separatist leader in Canada. India has firmly denied any role in the killing.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, and Trudeau's allegation of Indian involvement led to a major diplomatic row between the two nations.
The Biden administration said it was "deeply concerned" about the allegations made by Trudeau that India was involved in the killing, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it "critical that the Canadian investigation proceed," adding that it was "important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation."
Pannun knew Nijjar for 20 years, treated him like his "younger brother" and would "avenge" his death, the Sikh leader told the Times of India in July.
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