US-India ties not damaged by Pannun murder plot probe: Eric Garcetti

By Dan Strumpf

The US Ambassador to India said he was pleased with India’s progress on its investigation into an alleged plot to kill a Sikh activist last year, adding that the issue wouldn’t hamper relations between the two countries. 
 

“India and the US are showing their resilience and that we really want this relationship for the long haul,” Eric Garcetti said in an interview with Indian news agency ANI that was broadcast on Sunday. “We’ve been satisfied with the coordination on this particular issue and it hasn’t slowed a single thing down” in terms of US-India engagement, he said.

US prosecutors accused an Indian government agent last year of directing a plot to assassinate a Sikh activist, who is also a US citizen, in New York. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — a Sikh separatist who is labeled a terrorist by New Delhi — later said he was the intended victim. The alleged plot, which US authorities said was thwarted, was revealed after an associate of Pannun was killed in Canada.

India set up a high-level committee to investigate the allegations, but hasn’t made public any details about the committee, including who is on it or the status of the probe. However, senior officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss private deliberations, said recently the investigation found that rogue operatives not authorized by the government were involved in the plot.

Both India and the US have sought to downplay the significance of the allegations and have continued to hold high-profile meetings on trade and other issues since the case came to light. 

“I was very pleased that India put together this commission of inquiry, put senior people who are experienced in law enforcement on that, and that they have been digging in on this side domestically to uncover any evidence that would show a murder-for-hire plot that included anybody who was from the Indian government,” Garcetti told ANI.

The ambassador added that government-backed assassination of a foreign country’s citizens is a “red line for any country.” 

“No government or government employee can be involved in the alleged assassination of one of your own citizens,” he said. “That’s just an unacceptable red line.”