Panel for legal action against ‘individual’ in Pannun plot

Just days before the Joe Biden government demits office in the US, a high-powered committee set up by the Centre to probe inputs received from Washington on an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist, has submitted its report and recommended legal action against “an individual”.

Advertisement

Though a press statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday did not identify the individual, it is learnt the person was Vikas Yadav, a former intelligence official. Yadav was indicted by the US Department of Justice in connection with the plot.

‘Undermined security interests of India, US’

• A committee was set up by the Centre on November 18, 2023, to look into the inputs provided by the US regarding activities of some organised criminal groups, terrorist organisations and drug peddlers, who undermined the security interests of both India and the US.
• An MHA statement did not identify the “individual”, but it is learnt the person was Vikas Yadav, a former intel official. Yadav was indicted by the US Department of Justice in connection with the plot.

‘Undermined security interests of India, US’

• 0A committee was set up by the Centre on November 18, 2023, to look into the inputs provided by the US regarding activities of some organised criminal groups, terrorist organisations and drug peddlers, who undermined the security interests of both India and the US.

The committee was set up by the Centre on November 18, 2023, to look into the inputs provided by the US regarding activities of some organised criminal groups, terrorist organisations and drug peddlers, who undermined the security interests of both India and the US, the statement said. The inputs were shared by Washington with New Delhi regarding the alleged involvement of Yadav. The Ministry of External Affairs had said in November last year that Yadav “was no longer an employee of the Government of India”.

“The inquiry committee conducted its own investigation, and also pursued leads provided by the US. It received full cooperation from the US authorities and the two sides also exchanged visits. The committee further examined a number of officials from different agencies and also scrutinised relevant documents in this connection,” the statement said.

After a long inquiry, the committee had submitted its report to the government and recommended legal action against an individual, whose earlier criminal links and antecedents also came to notice during the probe, it further said, without naming anybody.

The panel also suggested that legal action must be expedited. The committee has further recommended “functional improvement in systems and procedures as well as initiation of steps that could strengthen India’s response capability, ensure systematic controls and coordinated action in dealing with matters like this”.

The US revelation in November 2023 about the foiled Pannun plot had come just months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations about Indian officials’ involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder. The US had initially named Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who was first detained in Prague in June 2023 and later extradited to the US in June 2024.

Gupta allegedly collaborated with Yadav, agreeing to pay an assassin to kill Pannun in New York, according to the US Department of Justice’s indictment. Pannun, who heads the Sikhs for Justice, holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Incidentally, India has maintained a cautious approach on Yadav’s indictment by the US.