US links Indian official to murder plot that India calls 'contrary to
policy'
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[November 30, 2023]
By Luc Cohen, Jeff Mason and David Brunnstrom
NEW YORK (Reuters) -An Indian government official directed an
unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the
U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against
a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Nikhil Gupta, 52, worked with the
Indian government employee, whose responsibilities included security and
intelligence, on the plot to assassinate the New York City resident who
advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
Responding on Thursday, India expressed concern about one of its
government officials being linked to the plot, from which it dissociated
itself, as being against government policy.
Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although
they did describe the latter as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin. U.S.
officials have named him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of
the United States and Canada.
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Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in June and is awaiting
extradition. He could not be reached for comment.
News of the incident comes two months after Canada said there were
"credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a
Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb, a
contention India has rejected.
On Wednesday, Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan,
said, "The defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in
New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly
advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs".
The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a "senior
field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and
"intelligence" employed by the Indian government who "directed the plot
from India."
The charges come after a senior Biden administration official said last
week that U.S. authorities had thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist
in the United States and warned India over concerns the government in
New Delhi was involved.
Biden told CIA director Bill Burns to contact his Indian counterpart,
then travel to India to deliver a message that "we will not tolerate
such activities and that we expect those responsible to be held fully
accountable," a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Biden also raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during the G20 summit, where he "emphasized the seriousness of this
issue and the potential repercussions for our bilateral relationship
were similar threats to persist," the official said.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony
Blinken also discussed the issue with India's foreign minister.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines also traveled to India to
aid the government in an internal investigation, the official said.
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DELICATE DIPLOMATIC ISSUE
The issue is highly delicate for both India and the Biden administration
as they try to build closer ties in the face of an ascendant China
perceived as a threat for both democracies.
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It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government official was
linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi
said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government
policy."
On Wednesday, India had said it would formally investigate the
concerns aired by the U.S., and take "necessary follow-up action" on
the findings of a panel set up on Nov. 18.
Bagchi declined to elaborate on the investigation.
Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security
Council, said that after the defendant "credibly indicated" he was
directed by an Indian government official, "we took this information
very seriously and engaged in direct conversations with the Indian
government at the highest levels to express our concern."
"The government of India was clear with us that they were taking
this seriously and would investigate," she said, adding: "We will
continue to expect accountability from the government of India based
on the results of their investigations."
In a statement after the indictment, Pannun told Reuters that the
alleged attempt on his life was a "blatant case of India's
transnational terrorism, which has become a challenge to America's
sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and democracy".
'WE HAVE SO MANY TARGETS'
According to U.S. prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta
in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. Gupta had previously
told the official he had been involved with trafficking drugs and
weapons, prosecutors said.
Gupta then reached out to someone he believed was a criminal
associate for help hiring a hitman, but that associate was actually
a Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent, prosecutors
said.
The day after Nijjar was killed, Gupta wrote to the undercover DEA
agent saying Nijjar "was also the target" and "we have so many
targets," prosecutors said.
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Gupta faces two counts of murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire
conspiracy. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted.
India has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups
overseas, including Canada and the United States. The groups have
kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an
independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.
The movement is considered a security threat by India, although the
cause now has hardly any support within the country, having been
crushed in the 1990s.
Sikh militants were blamed for the 1985 bombing of an Air India
Boeing 747 flying from Canada to India that killed all 329 aboard.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen; Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik and
Shivam Patel in New Delhi and Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom and Doina
Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Clarence
Fernandez)
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