The News Freedom
New Delhi, November 30
Reacting to the United States Justice Department’s unsealed indictment alleging the involvement of two Indians in a plot to eliminate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that 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.
“We have said that this is also contrary to government policy. The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gunrunning and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for 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,” said MEA Official Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said during a press conference in New Delhi.
Talking about the discussion with US on bilateral security cooperation, he said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to the nexus between organised criminals, gunrunners, terrorists and other extremists.” We take such inputs very seriously and a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter. Necessary follow-up action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry committee,” Bagchi further said.
However, he refused to divulge the details of bilateral talks due to security reasons.
The United States Justice Department on November 29 charged Indians including a government employee for an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. The United States Department of Justice has filed murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City. In an official statement, the United States Justice Department said that the charges are contained in a superseding indictment unsealed today in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case is pending before US District Judge Victor Marrero. The Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30 pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.
“ The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” said the United States Justice Department.
US charges Indians with conspiracy to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Pannu