New Delhi: Five American senators including Bernie Sanders have called for a strong diplomatic response from the US administration following allegations of the involvement of an Indian government official in the foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday, the senators also called out New Delhi for its “increasingly irresponsible efforts to silence critics” among its diaspora, days after Indian national Nikhil Gupta was extradited to the US by the Czech Republic for the plot to kill Pannun.
It added: “It is imperative that we take an unequivocal stand against a threat to the rights of a U.S. citizen and violation of U.S. sovereignty, which are examples of India’s increasingly irresponsible efforts to silence critics of its government among its diaspora around the world.”
Gupta is accused by the US Justice Department of attempting to kill Pannun — an Indian designated terrorist — on the alleged directions of an Indian government employee. The allegations by the Justice Department were first made public in its indictment filed in November 2023. The indictment, however, did not name the Indian government official, who is referred to as “CC-1”.
The Indian government announced that a high-level inquiry committee was set up in November 2023 to look into the evidence shared by the US on the foiled assassination plot.
The signatories of the letter are: Jeffrey A. Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden. Merkley, Van Hollen and Kaine are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
They also called for a briefing “on the status of the (US) administration’s engagement with the Indian government on this matter,” while adding that such a briefing should include how the State department “intends to pursue follow-up action”.
“India must maintain its commitment to respecting human rights at home and abroad as it aspires to global leadership. Now that India’s 2024 general election has concluded, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Modi returning to power, the United States has an opportunity to include this issue as a core agenda item with the Indian government,” the letter said.
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Foiled murder-for-hire plot
Last year, “CC-1” is alleged to have gotten in touch with Gupta to plan a plot to assassinate Pannun. Gupta, in turn, contacted a criminal associate in the US, who was actually a confidential informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The informant put Gupta in touch with a “hitman” — a DEA undercover officer — and a deal was struck to carry out the killing for $100,000, allegedly after confirmation from the Indian official.
US agencies accordingly lured Gupta out of India to Prague, The Washington Post reported, where he was arrested on 30 June last year by Czech authorities. He was extradited to America nearly a year after his detainment, as an extradition agreement exists between the two countries.
Canada has also accused Indian officials of orchestrating targeted killings on its soil. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 announced that Canadian authorities were investigating “credible allegations” of links between Indian agents and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Indian designated terrorist and Sikh separatist.
New Delhi rejected Ottawa’s claims as “absurd and motivated”. In recent months, Australian media has reported that in 2020 four Indian officials were asked to leave the country after attempting to learn sensitive defence and security information as well as airport security protocols.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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