NEW DELHI: India on Thursday confirmed that a security official named in an indictment by US prosecutors as the person who allegedly directed a plot to assassinate pro-Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil has been sacked.
The announcement by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came a day after the US state department said the Indian side had informed Washington about the removal of the official, identified only as “CC-1” in the indictment filed by prosecutors in a Manhattan court last November.
When Jaiswal was asked at a regular media briefing whether the official named in the indictment by the US department of justice had been removed, he replied: “Yes, I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the government of India.”
Jaiswal declined to give details in response to further questions about the official and his current status, and only said he was no longer “part of the government of India setup”. He added, “Beyond that, I don’t have anything to share with you.”
In the indictment filed against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, US prosecutors alleged CC-1 “directed the assassination plot from India”. The indictment described CC-1 as a government employee responsible for intelligence who previously served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRFP).
Reporting by HT and other media outlets identified CC-1 as CRPF official Vikram Yadav, who was seconded to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He was removed from the intelligence agency earlier this year with some other officials.
Gupta, arrested in the Czech Republic and subsequently extradited to the US, contacted a person he believed to be a criminal associate for help in hiring a hitman to murder Pannun, according to the US indictment. This person was in reality a confidential source working with US law enforcement. The source introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was an undercover US law enforcement officer.
Pannun has already been declared a terrorist by India and his organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), banned under an anti-terror law.
On Wednesday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Indian side had informed the US that the “individual who was named in the justice department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government”.
Jaiswal said two members of the high-level inquiry committee set up by India to examine information provided by the US regarding the foiled assassination plot travelled to Washington for meetings and to share “several ideas on the inputs received”.
“We have taken these inputs very seriously and we have remained engaged with the US on this particular matter,” he said.
In response to questions regarding calls by Canada’s partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance – Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK – calling on New Delhi to cooperate with Ottawa’s investigation into the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Jaiswal said the Canadian government has “not shared any shred of evidence with us”.
Canada has not given any evidence to back up the serious allegations it has levelled, he said. While members of the Five Eyes called on India to take Canada’s allegations seriously, Jaiswal said: “[Canadian] Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau’s own admission would indicate the value of these allegations. As regards our stance on the allegations, we will naturally reject false imputations against our diplomats.”