New Delhi: India late Wednesday said it had received “some inputs” from the US during recent discussions on security matters, hours after the Financial Times reported that US authorities had foiled an “assassination attempt” on Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and issued a “diplomatic warning” to New Delhi over concerns it was involved in the plot.
In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that these inputs pertained to a “nexus” between organised criminals, terrorists and others, but did not specify where. The statement made no mention of Pannun.
“During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised 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,” stated the MEA spokesperson.
“On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments,” he added.
A report by the Financial Times hours earlier said that US federal prosecutors had filed a sealed indictment (formal accusation filed in court, contents not made public) against at least one alleged perpetrator of the assassination attempt against Pannun in a New York district court.
The US Justice Department, the media report further said, is deciding whether to make the indictment public, or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, who was killed in British Columbia, Canada, earlier this year.
Pannun is the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based group that has repeatedly called for a “referendum” for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. India banned the SFJ in 2019, and Pannun was designated a terrorist in 2020.
Earlier this month, in a video message, he had warned Sikhs against flying Air India on 19 November — the birth anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in 1984.
He is also known to release provocative videos threatening Indians abroad, including diplomats.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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