US Court summons NSA Ajit Doval, former RAW chief over alleged plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Pannun

After Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani separatist, filed a civil lawsuit in US court alleging the Indian government of hatching a conspiracy to assassinate him, the District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a summons to the Indian government, NDTV reported. The summons demands a response from the Indian government within 21 days.

Apart from the Indian government, the lawsuit names India's foreign intelligence agency personnel and others, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel, R&AW agent Vikram Yadav, and Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who heads the radical outfit Sikhs for Justice, shared a copy of the summons on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which has been withheld. The centre's response to the summons is awaited.

Mint could not independently confirm the development of the news.

According to a Financial Times report, last year, the US had thwarted a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. US President Joe Biden's administration later confirmed the development.

Responding to the critical issue, the Ministry of External Affairs noted that it is a "matter of concern" and asserted that India has launched a high-level probe. Former MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said, “As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said that this is also contrary to government policy,” the NDTV report said.

Noting that the matter would not impact the "upward trajectory" of India-US ties, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in May this year emphasised that India is “investigating.” He suggested that the United States sought India's attention to this issue “in good faith because we also believe some of it has implications for our own system.”

Nikhil Gupta, the Indian businessman, who has been accused of orchestrating the murder attempt of the Khalistani separatist, pleaded not guilty in a federal court. This followed extradition from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested last year. According to court documents, Nikhil Gupta has an intelligence background and is described as a “senior field officer” with code CC- 1.