In what could become a complicated legal and diplomatic matter for the Indian government, the US Justice Department has said that an Indian government employee based in India directed a plot to kill a US based leader of the Sikh Separatist Movement. The Washington Post reported that the Sikh Separatist Leader was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

A US Attorney announced murder for hire charges against an Indian national, 52 year old Nikhil Gupta. "The charges have been filed in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen. Charges are contained in an indictment unsealed today in a US Court. Czech authorities arrested Gupta on 30th June pursuant to a bilateral extradition treaty," said a press release from the US Department of Justice.

According to the charges files, Gupta was hired by an Indian government official in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination of the victim on United States soil. "The Victim is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a U.S.-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India. The Victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the victim and his separatist organisation from India," said the statement.

How was Nikhil or Nick Gupta arrested?

The US Justice Department said, Gupta approached someone whom he believed to be a criminal associate, but was actually an undercover source of the DEA. The source introduced Gupta to a hitman, who was an undercover DEA officer. The Indian government official agreed to pay $100,000 for the deal brokered to murder the victim.

"The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge," said the Justice Department.

India's response so far?

The Financial Times was first to report that US officials had thwarted an assassination plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and had issued a diplomatic warning to India. The White House had said that the matter had been taken up with India at the highest levels in recent bilateral meetings.

Earlier on Tuesday the Ministry of External Affairs said that the Indian government has constituted a high level enquiry to probe the inputs provided by the US government. But the Ministry did not directly respond to the US Justice Department Statement.

"We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others. We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue."

"In this context, it is informed that on 18 November 2023, the Government of India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter. Government of India will take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Enquiry Committee," said the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday afternoon.

(Edited by : Anand Singha)

First Published:Nov 29, 2023 11:22 PM IST