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According to authorities, an Indian government representative reportedly gave $100,000 in exchange for a plan to kill a well-known Sikh separatist leader in New York City.
Last spring, US authorities were informed of a plan to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is deemed a terrorist by the Indian government.
A government official, whose identity was not disclosed, was named in a recently revealed indictment at a federal court in Manhattan. The charges include murder-for-hire and a plot to carry out such a crime against Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian citizen who resided in India.
According to a statement from US Attorney Damian Williams, the accused individual, Mr. Gupta, plotted to murder a US citizen of Indian descent in New York City. The targeted individual has openly supported the creation of an independent nation for Sikhs, a religious and ethnic minority group in India. The charges against Mr. Gupta have been officially announced.
According to the Associated Press, Czech authorities apprehended Mr. Gupta on June 30 using a mutual extradition agreement between the US and the Czech Republic. The timing of his potential transfer to the United States is currently unknown.
According to the indictment seen by AP, officials reported that the scheme was orchestrated by an employee of an Indian government organization who has identified himself as a “senior field officer” with duties in “security management” and “intelligence”.
According to reports, President Joe Biden brought up the issue in a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Group of 20 Summit in New Delhi in September.
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to court documents, the individual known as “Mr. Pannun” asserts that he was a member of India’s Central Reserve Police Force and received training in combat skills and weaponry. However, his true identity remains undisclosed.
According to the indictment, the Indian government hired Mr. Gupta in May of last year to plan and carry out the assassination.
The White House refused to directly address the accusations against Mr Gupta, but a high-ranking government official confirmed that the plot was brought to their attention in late July.
“When we were informed that the accused in this case had reliable evidence that he was instructed by a person who is believed to be a staff member of the Indian Government to orchestrate the killing, we took this information with great seriousness. We then had direct discussions with the Indian government at the highest levels to express our apprehension,” stated Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, in a statement given to AP.
According to an anonymous source, there were several discussions with Indian government officials before Mr Gupta’s arrest, stressing the importance of holding those responsible for the plot accountable.
According to an official, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser at the White House, informed Ravi Sinha, his Indian counterpart, that the US requires reassurance that a similar incident will not occur again. He also cautioned that any future occurrences could severely harm the trust that has been built between our two nations.
According to reports, President Joe Biden brought up the issue when he had a face-to-face discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 Summit in September in New Delhi.
According to the indictment, Mr. Gupta reached out to someone he thought was a criminal accomplice in order to hire a hitman for a murder. However, this person turned out to be a confidential informant working with the DEA.
The anonymous informant connected Mr. Gupta with someone who claimed to be a hired killer, but was actually an undercover DEA agent.
In June, according to the indictment, the Indian government employee provided Gupta with Pannun’s residential address, phone numbers, and information about his daily activities, including surveillance photos. Gupta then shared this information with an undercover DEA agent.
The statement indicated that Gupta instructed the undercover agent to complete the murder as quickly as possible, but also cautioned against carrying it out during expected meetings between top officials from the US and India.
Source: the-independent.com
