Waiting for results of India’s probe into ‘Pannun plot’: US

The United States is waiting to see the results of the Indian investigations on allegations related to a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, a State Department official has said.

“They (Indian government) opened a committee of inquiry to look into the matter, and that work is ongoing; we’ll wait to see the results. But we made it very clear that it’s something that we are taking seriously and we think they, too, should take this seriously,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday.

Miller was responding to a question on the allegations that Indian government officials were involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun, a US citizen and a separatist Sikh leader.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, recently named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in connection with the alleged plot to kill Pannun on American soil last year.

Slamming the report by the US daily, India has strongly rejected the claims, saying that the report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a serious matter and that an investigation into the case was underway.

“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi last Tuesday.

Jaiswal said a high-level inquiry committee set up by New Delhi to look into inputs provided by the US on the alleged plot was still probing the case.

India should take it seriously: US on Nijjar’s killing

The US State Department has said India should take the matter involving the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar very seriously and investigate the same. There have been allegations regarding India’s role in Nijjar’s murder. The remarks come at a time when the case has seen numerous twists and turns.

Responding to a media query on the arrest of three individuals “linked to the murder”, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “I would refer you to the Canadian authorities for the details into the investigation there.”

Asserting that the US would wait to see the results, Miller said, “They opened a committee of inquiry to look into the matter. That work is ongoing. We’ll wait to see the results. But we made very clear that it’s something that we take seriously and we think it’s something they should take seriously as well.”

India and Canada are dealing with an unprecedented diplomatic crisis after the Canadian PM accused “agents of the Indian government” of killing Canadian Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023. However, India has dismissed the accusations as absurd and motivated