‘Working with India to track down those behind Pannu’s murder plot’: U.S.

The United States has said it is cooperating with the Indian government to hold accountable those who plotted the killing of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu on American soil, news agency PTI quoted the Joe Biden administration as saying.

The development comes as Indian national Nikhil Gupta was charged by federal prosecutors last November for his role in an attempted assassination plot to kill Pannun.

U.S. federal prosecutors accuse Gupta of working with an Indian government employee and agreeing to pay an assassin $100,000 to kill Pannon, who lived in New York City.

India has set up a commission of inquiry to look into the allegations.

During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lew told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the matter was a “serious matter” between India and the United States.

“This is a serious matter, a serious issue between the United States and India. The Department of Justice alleges that an Indian citizen attempted to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil at the request of Indian government personnel. We believe the government We take this issue very seriously and have raised it with the highest levels in India,” Lu said.

“We are currently working with India to encourage it to hold those responsible for this horrific crime accountable. What we can see is that India themselves have announced that they have set up a committee of inquiry to look into this matter and we ask them to be swift and transparent work to ensure justice is served,” he added.

Lew made the remarks in response to a question from Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who asked whether sanctions similar to those imposed on those believed to be behind the plot were being considered in connection with the Russian killing of Lexi Naval. Nigeria imposed sanctions on more than 500 people related to the killing of Pannon.

In February, the U.S. State Department told lawmakers that allegations that India was involved in the assassination attempt were “very concerning.”

Meanwhile, India called the United States’ linking an Indian official to a man accused of plotting to kill a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil a “matter of concern” and claimed it would be based on a panel The findings are followed up with actions to investigate the allegations.