India has said that the claims made by a media report regarding the involvement of a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official in Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh's assassination plot were "unwarranted and unsubstantiated."
While providing the current status of the inquiry by the Indian government, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized on Tuesday that "speculative and irresponsible comments on the issue are not helpful."
“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter. There is an ongoing investigation of the High-Level Committee set up by the Government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others. Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” Jaiswal said.
Media report claiming involvement of RAW in Pannun murder plot
A report in The Washington Post has claimed that an officer in the Research and Analysis Wing, identified as Vikram Yadav, was involved in the assassination plot of Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States. The report, published on Monday, April 29, also claimed that the plan was executed after it was approved by the then-Indian spy agency chief Samant Goel. It further claimed that the RAW officials were involved in the separate shooting death of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, last June in Canada.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?
Designated as a terrorist by the Indian government, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement and the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). A vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pannun and his organisation is a staunch advocate of the idea of a separate Sikh state. He has openly issued death threats to PM Modi in past. Pannun is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
Pannun murder plot: US reaction on the report
Reacting to the report, the White House on Monday said that it views the reported involvement of RAW officials in two assassination plots in Canada and the United States as a serious matter.
"This is a serious matter, and we're taking that very, very seriously," Reuters quoted White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre as saying. “We're going to continue to raise our concerns.”
