An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist, who is also a United States citizen, on American soil, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Nikhil Gupta, 52, worked with the Indian government employee, whose responsibilities included security and intelligence, on the plot to assassinate the New York City resident who advocated for a Sikh sovereign state in northern India.
Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a US citizen of Indian origin.
US officials have named him as Mr Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in June and is awaiting extradition.
“The defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs,” the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Damian Williams said.
The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a “Senior Field Officer” with responsibilities in “Security Management” and “Intelligence”, employed by the Indian government, who “directed the plot from India”.
He allegedly offered US$100,000 for a contract hit and asked Gupta to arrange it. He also provided Gupta with the target’s home address, phone numbers and details of his daily routine. The Indian government employee and Gupta allegedly spoke repeatedly and also met in New Delhi.
The charges come after a senior Biden administration official last week said US authorities had thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the US and issued a warning to India over concerns New Delhi was involved.
US President Joe Biden instructed Central Intelligence Agency director Bill Burns to contact his Indian counterpart, then travel to India to deliver a message that “we will not tolerate such activities and that we expect those responsible to be held fully accountable,” a senior US official said.
Mr Biden also raised the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit, where he “emphasised the seriousness of this issue and the potential repercussions for our bilateral relationship were similar threats to persist,” the official said.
The issue is highly delicate for both India and the Biden administration as they try to build closer ties in the face of an ascendant China, perceived as a threat for both democracies.
India’s foreign ministry said New Delhi would formally investigate the concerns aired by the US. “India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well,” the ministry said.
Ms Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said: “We will continue to expect accountability from the government of India based on the results of their investigations.”
News of the incident comes two months after Canada said there were allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver, something India has rejected.
According to US prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May this year to orchestrate the assassination. Gupta had previously told the official he had been involved with trafficking drugs and weapons, prosecutors said.
Gupta then reached out to someone he believed was a criminal associate for help hiring a hitman, but that associate was actually a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) undercover agent, prosecutors said.
The day after Mr Nijjar was killed, Gupta wrote to the undercover DEA agent saying Mr Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets”, prosecutors said.
Gupta faces two counts of murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy.
The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the US. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.
Reuters
