A high-powered committee, constituted by the Union government in November 2023 to investigate inputs from the United States on the activities of organised criminal groups, terrorist organisations, and drug peddlers threatening the security interests of both India and the US, has submitted its findings. According to a press release by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday, the committee has recommended expeditious legal action against “an individual” whose criminal links and antecedents surfaced during the investigation. The identity of the individual, however, has not been disclosed.
The press statement by MHA pointed that “The Enquiry Committee conducted its own investigations, and also pursued leads provided by the US side. It received full cooperation from US authorities and the two sides also exchanged visits. The Committee further examined a number of officials from different agencies and also scrutinised relevant documents in this connection."
“The Committee further recommended functional improvements in systems and procedures as also initiation of steps that could strengthen India’s response capability, ensure systematic controls and coordinated action in dealing with matters like this,” the MHA said.
The US Department of Justice had charged former Indian official Vikas Yadav with orchestrating the murder-for-hire plot against Pannun.
The counsel for Vikash Yadav, who is reportedly a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, dismissed the charges brought against him by US law enforcement agencies, calling them baseless and part of an international conspiracy to defame India.
The Ministry of External Affairs had confirmed that the individual named in the US Justice Department's indictment case in foiled assassination plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was no longer an employee of the government of India. "The US State Department informed us that the individual in the Justice Department indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in a press conference in October 2024.
The revelation by the US Justice Department in November 2023 regarding the foiled plot to assassinate Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun surfaced against the backdrop of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s earlier allegations about Indian officials’ involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The US indictment named Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, who was initially detained in Prague in June 2023 and later extradited to the US in June 2024.
US prosecutors alleged that Gupta conspired with Vikash Yadav and agreed to pay USD 100,000 to a hired assassin to eliminate Pannun. Pannun, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, is the leader of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a proscribed organisation in India, and is designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities.
(With inputs from Agencies)
