India denies 'unwarranted' report linking spy official to killing plot in US

NEW DELHI

India on Tuesday denied a media report linking a spy official to a plot to kill a Sikh separatist on US soil last year.

The Washington Post reported on Monday an officer in India's foreign intelligence gathering service, known as the Research and Analysis Wing or RAW, was directly involved in a plan to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual American-Canadian citizen.

Pannun, the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice -- a US-based group that is part of a movement pushing for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan in northern India-- has been designated a "terrorist" by the Indian government.

“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on Tuesday morning.

“There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organized criminals, terrorists and others,” he said, while noting that “speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful.”

The Washington Post report, naming the officer who until now was identified as "CC1" in a US Justice Department indictment, also said that “in reports that have been closely held within the American government, US intelligence agencies have assessed that the operation targeting Pannun was approved,” by the then spy agency chief.

On Monday, the White House said it viewed the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in the assassination plot as a serious matter.

"This is a serious matter, and we're taking that very, very seriously," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "We're going to continue to raise our concerns."

In November last year, India said it was probing US concerns over the foiled assassination plot. The probe announcement came when Washington notified New Delhi after it thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate the Sikh separatist leader on US soil.

The report of the foiled plot came two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said there were “credible allegations” that the Indian government was behind the shooting of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18, 2023 in front of a Sikh temple in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia.

Earlier, New Delhi said any attempt to connect the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to killing plots in northern America was "absurd and motivated."

"White House officials warned the Modi government this month that The Post (Washington Post) was close to publishing an investigation that would reveal new details about the (murder plot) case. It did so without notifying The Post," the report by the newspaper said.

Indian spies kicked out of Australia

The Washington Post report also claimed that Australia had kicked out two RAW officers from the country in 2020 which the Sydney-based ABC News confirmed Tuesday.

Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) had in 2020 foiled plans of alleged Indian spies to steal secrets and sensitive information about a defense project in the country.

ASIO Chief Mike Burgess had called the bust a "nest of spies," without revealing the identities of spies at that time.

"The spies developed targeted relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service," Burgess said in March 2021.

"Friendly nations believed to be particularly active with espionage operations in Australia include Singapore, South Korea, Israel and India," the ABC report said, quoting government sources.

The Washington Post report said the alleged murder plots in the US and Canada by Indian spy "took place amid a wave of violence in Pakistan, where at least 11 Sikh or Kashmiri separatists living in exile and labeled terrorists by the Modi government have been killed over the past two years."

"RAW officers and agents have faced arrest, expulsion and reprimand in countries including Australia, Germany and Britain," it added.

* Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this story.