Washington, May 7. (PTI): The US is awaiting the outcome of Indian investigations into charges of a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, according to a State Department official.
“They (the Indian government) established a committee of inquiry to investigate the incident, and that work is still underway; we’ll wait to see the outcome. But we made it very clear that we are taking this seriously, and we believe they should as well,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his regular press conference on Monday.
Miller was responding to a question on charges that Indian government officials conspired to kill Pannun, a US citizen and separatist Sikh leader.
“I would direct you to Canadian authorities to discuss the specifics of the inquiry there. Regarding the indictment returned in the United States, I will let the Department of Justice speak on its behalf in full,” he told reporters.
“And then the only thing further I would say: when it comes to the State Department, we had made it clear right when these allegations were first made public that it’s something we think India should take very seriously and investigate,” Miller continued.
According to anonymous sources, the Washington Post recently identified a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official as being involved in the purported attempt to kill Pannun on American soil last year.
India has firmly refuted the charges made by the US daily, stating that the report contained “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a serious topic and that an investigation into the case was underway.
“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi last Tuesday.
