New Delhi, 15 January 2025- According to a press release released by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday, a powerful committee that was established by the Union government to look into American input regarding a supposed plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has turned in its report and suggested taking legal action against “an individual.” The person in question is not identified in the statement.
The US government had previously provided the Indian government with information regarding the suspected involvement of Vikash Yadav, a former Indian official who was charged by the US public prosecutor with “directing a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City.” The Ministry of External Affairs had said in November last year that Yadav “is no longer an employee of the government of India”.
The Indian government set up a high-level committee on November 18 to look into all relevant aspects of the matter and inputs shared by the US on the alleged plot. This committee, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Tuesday, “conducted its own investigation, and also pursued leads provided by the US side.”
In Frame:- Khalistani vocalist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
“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 scrutinized relevant documents in this connection,” the MEA said. The Indian committee travelled to Washington DC on October 15 as part of its investigation to discuss the case with the US authorities, including information it had obtained, and to receive an update from the US regarding the case it is pursuing.
“After a long inquiry, the Committee submitted its report to the government and recommended legal action against an individual, whose earlier criminal links and antecedents also came to notice during the inquiry. The Inquiry Committee has recommended that the legal action must be completed expeditiously,” the MHA statement reads.
Only a few months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims regarding Indian officials’ involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the US Justice Department uncovered the thwarted Pannun plot in November 2023.