An Indian high-level investigation into the alleged assassination plot against pro-Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist in India, has found that "rogue operatives" not authorized by the government were involved in the plot, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The report claims that at least one official involved in the so-called plot was no longer working with India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) but was still employed by the federal government.
Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is pictured in his office on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in New York.
© AP Photo / Ted Shaffrey
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that it had constituted a "high-level enquiry committee" to probe the "nexus between organised criminals, gun-runners, terrorists and others"
However, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has stated that New Delhi's policy doesn't mandate carrying out assassinations.
US Taking Pannun Probe 'Incredibly Seriously'
Meanwhile, Donald Lu, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said on Wednesday that he urged India to prosecute officials involved in the plot during a visit to New Delhi in January.
Addressing a hearing ‘Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship’ in Washington DC on Wednesday (local time), Lu highlighted that India has formed a committee to investigate the alleged plot.
"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,” he informed the Congressional hearing.
For its part, New Delhi has regularly urged the Biden administration to act against Pannun and other pro-Khalistan separatists operating from US soil, including those involved in attacks against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco last year.
The issue was also discussed at the 20th US- India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group (CTJWG) and 6th Designations Dialogue in Washington this month, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question from Sputnik India at a regular briefing in New Delhi last week.