RAW operative shunted out over Gurpatwant Singh Pannun plot
The operative removed from his position in RAW is a mid-level official seconded to the agency from a paramilitary force, people familiar with the matter said
An intelligence operative has been removed from his position and several others were reshuffled following an investigation into US claims of an alleged plot to kill Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, people familiar with the matter have said.
The investigation concluded “rogue operatives not authorised by the government had been involved in the plot”, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed senior officials. The developments in the probe by a high-level committee set up by India last year to examine inputs provided by the US were first reported by Bloomberg.
The operative removed from his position in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is a mid-level official seconded to the agency from a paramilitary force, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. Several other operatives were part of a reshuffle carried out in recent weeks by the agency amid the probe by the committee, they said.
The Indian side has revealed nothing officially about the work done by the high-level committee, or its composition or findings since an indictment filed by US prosecutors in a Manhattan court last November alleged that Indian national Nikhil Gupta, acting on the instructions of an unnamed Indian official, was involved in a plot to kill Pannun on American soil.
It is understood the operative removed from his position is the Indian government official referred to only as “CC-1” in the US indictment against Gupta. The indictment described CC-1 as a “senior field officer” responsible for “security management” and “intelligence” who directed the plot from India.
Bloomberg reported that “one person directly involved in the alleged attempted assassination is no longer working” for RAW. This person is “still employed by the government and India hasn’t started any criminal action against him”, the report said. India has also informed US authorities about the findings of the high-level committee, the report added.
Read more: US remains engaged with India on Pannun case: US official Richard Verma
The “murder for hire” plot, as US officials have referred to the incident, has emerged as an irritant in an otherwise robust India-US relationship that now encompasses collaboration on critical emerging technologies, joint development of military hardware and close cooperation on defence and security issues.
The US has pressed India to prosecute those involved in the plot, and this was a message conveyed to Indian officials by Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, when he visited New Delhi in January.
Participating in a US House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday, Lu described the plot as a “serious issue between the US and India”. He added: “We take this in the administration incredibly seriously and have raised it at the highest levels with India. We are, at the moment, working with India to encourage India to hold accountable those responsible for this terrible crime.”
Read more: Shots fired at Pannun associate’s home in Canada
Lu noted that India has created a committee of inquiry to look into the matter and said, “We ask them to work quickly and transparently to make sure justice is done.”
According to the indictment by US prosecutors, Gupta contacted a person whom he believed to be a criminal associate for help in killing Pannun. However, the person contacted by Gupta was a confidential source working with US law enforcement. The indictment said this source introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was an undercover US law enforcement officer.
Gupta is currently in jail in the Czech Republic, where the justice minister is examining his challenge to a court ruling that he can be extradited to the US.
Pannun, who holds US citizenship and is a senior leader of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has already been declared a terrorist by India.
About two months before the US indictment was made public, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triggered a diplomatic row by alleging there was a “potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the town of Surrey in June 2023. India dismissed Trudeau’s accusation as absurd and said the Canadian side hasn’t provided any evidence to back up the allegations.
