US charge on Indian link to murder plot of Khalistani leader 'matter of concern': Centre
Ministry of external affairs says that it takes such "inputs very seriously" and that necessary follow-up action will be taken on the findings of the Centre-appointed panel
The Indian government on Thursday (November 30) said the US indictment in a court alleging an Indian government link to a plot to murder a Sikh separatist in the US was “a matter of concern”.
"As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“We have said that this is also contrary to government policy," he added.
The spokesperson reiterated that New Delhi had launched a high-level probe into the charges that there was an alleged plot from India to murder US-based Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Bagchi responded to questions on allegations that an Indian government employee worked with Indian national Nikhil Gupta and others in the plot to assassinate Pannun, who leads Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice.
"The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gunrunning and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for the law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider, and it is for that reason that a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted and we will be guided by its results," he said.
“We take such inputs very seriously… Necessary follow-up action will be taken on the findings of the committee. We cannot share any further information regarding such security matters," Bagchi said.
Canada's complaint
Asked about the earlier charge of an Indian link to the June killing in Canada of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the spokesman said Ottawa had given space to anti-India extremists and that was the heart of the issue.
"Our diplomats in Canada have borne the brunt of this. So, we expect the government of Canada to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention.”
The US indictment said 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta worked with the Indian government official to hire a hitman to allegedly kill Pannun. Gupta agreed to pay an assassin $ 100,000 to kill the Sikh, the indictment said.
