Indian-American US Congress Members Urge India To Probe Pannun Plot, Warn Of Ramifications

The members of Indian-American US Congress have warned that unless India investigates and holds those responsible for plotting an assassination of an American citizen on American soil accountable, it can cause “significant damage” to the “very consequential” India-US bilateral partnership.

All five serving Indian-American members of the US Congress, based on a secret briefing by the US administration, have issued the warning, HT reported.

The report also said that the members have also sought a clear assurance from India that such an incident will never occur again.

In a joint statement, Amy Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar — all Democrats who serve in the House of Representatives from diverge geographies and are members of key legislative committees — said the US administration had provided them a classified briefing on the indictment of Nikhil Gupta in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American-Canadian dual citizen who India has designated as a terrorist, in New York City, the report said.

Last month, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that implicated a serving Indian government official for orchestrating the plot and seeking to assassinate Pannun in June this year through Gupta, who, in turn, hired a hitman who turned out to be an undercover agent for US law enforcement. 

India responded by acknowledging that it had received inputs from the US and announced the constitution of a high-level investigation committee to examine the issue.

“As members of Congress, the safety and well-being of our constituents is our most important priority. The allegations made in the indictment are deeply concerning,” the report quoted the statement of the members. 

The five Indian-American leaders said that they believed that the US-India partnership had made a “meaningful impact” on the lives of people of both countries, it said.

“But we are concerned that the actions outlined in the indictment could, if not appropriately addressed, cause significant damage to this very consequential partnership,” the statement added.