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India should take matter seriously and investigate: US on Pannun case
The US State Department asserted that it would “wait for the results” of New Delhi’s investigation.
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US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller. / Screengrab/ U.S. State Department YouTube
India should take the matter “very seriously and investigate”, the US State Department emphasized on May.6 when asked about New Delhi’s probe into allegations related to a plot to assassinate India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil in 2023.
"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 May.6.
Miller’s remarks came in response to a question about a report published by The Washington Post which, citing unnamed sources, mentioned the involvement of a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in connection with the case.
Pannun, who serves as the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, a New York-based organization, is classified as a terrorist by the Indian Home Ministry.
“With respect to the indictment that was returned in the United States, I'll let the Department of Justice speak on behalf of that in detail. And then the only thing further I'd say: When it comes to the State Department, we made clear when these allegations were first made public that it's something we think India should take very seriously and investigate,” Miller said.
In a separate question about the arrest of three individuals connected to the killing of India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Miller said, “I would refer you to the Canadian authorities to speak to the details of the investigation there.”
Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015, was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism. Last June, he was shot dead by assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple near the west coast city of Vancouver.
The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly linked to Indian intelligence, ignited a diplomatic firestorm between the two countries.
India dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and responded furiously, briefly curbing visas for Canadians and forcing Ottawa to withdraw diplomats.
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