US Responds to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Case: Refrains from Comment Until Allegations Are Proven, Rejects Russia’s Accusations
The US State Department has said it “won’t speak” until “allegations are proved” before a jury into the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
“There’s a publicly returned indictment that contains alleged facts or allegations. Until they’re proven before a jury that anyone can go and read, I won’t speak to them here because, of course, it’s an ongoing legal matter, and I’ll leave it at that,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Miller’s remarks came in response to a media query on Pannun’s case investigation.
In November last year, the US authorities said an Indian government official had directed the plot in the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
The US White House in April said it viewed the reported role of the Indian intelligence service in the assassination plots as a very serious matter.
As per the US Justice Department indictment, Indian national Nikhil Gupta was involved in the alleged attempt to kill Pannun.
Gupta is currently in custody in the Czech Republic and has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, 2023 under a bilateral extradition treaty between the US and the Czech Republic.
India has rejected the allegations, calling it “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputation on a “serious matter” that is under investigation.
India has also set up a high-level committee to probe the matter.
Meanwhile, the US has dismissed the Russian allegations of the US interfering in the ongoing Indian elections.
Matthew Miller responded to a question on Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s statement in Moscow when asked about a recent Washington Post article alleging that a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer was involved in an alleged plot to kill Pannun.
“Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi… we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other states…of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States’ misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state,” Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
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