RAW operative shunted out over Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun plot
New Delhi: An intelligence operative has been removed from his position and several others were reshuffled following an investigation by Indian government into a plot to kill Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City.
According to Kashmir Media Service, federal prosecutors in the US had, in November, 2023, said that an Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, plotted to kill Pannun at the behest of an Indian government official. Gupta is currently in jail in the Czech Republic, where the justice minister is examining his challenge to a court ruling that he can be extradited to the US.
Bloomberg citing unnamed senior officials reported the investigation concluded “rogue operatives not authorised by the government of India had been involved in the plot”. The developments in the probe by a high-level committee set up by India last year to examine inputs provided by the US were first reported by the Bloomberg.
The operative removed from his position in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is a mid-level official seconded to the agency from a paramilitary force, the report said. Several other operatives were part of a reshuffle carried out in recent weeks by the agency amid the probe by the committee, the unnamed officials said.
It is understood the operative removed from his position is the Indian government official referred to only as “CC-1” in the US indictment against Gupta. The indictment described CC-1 as a “senior field officer” responsible for “security management” and “intelligence” who directed the plot from India.
Bloomberg reported that “one person directly involved in the attempted assassination is no longer working” for RAW. This person is “still employed by the government and India hasn’t started any criminal action against him”, the report said. India has also informed US authorities about the findings of the high-level committee, the report added.
About two months before the US indictment was made public, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triggered a diplomatic row by stating there was a potential link between Indian government agents and the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the town of Surrey in June 2023.
