Indian probe panel to visit Washington DC over alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

PTC Web Desk: The US  State Department announced on Monday that an Indian inquiry panel, established to investigate Washington's allegations of an Indian national's involvement in a failed plot to “assassinate” an American national, will visit the US capital on October 15. The American national in question is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom the Indian government designated as a terrorist in 2020.

According to a statement from the US  State Department, "The Enquiry Committee will be travelling to Washington DC  on October 15, as part of their ongoing investigations to discuss the case, including information they have obtained, and to receive an update from the US  authorities regarding the US case that is proceeding."

The statement further added that India has informed the United States of its ongoing efforts to explore other connections related to the accused former Indian government employee, Nikhil Gupta, and will determine necessary follow-up steps. Last November, US prosecutors charged Gupta with an alleged assassination plot targeting Pannun in New York. Gupta was apprehended in the Czech Republic in June last year and extradited to the US on June 14. India has denied the allegations but has launched an internal investigation into the matter.

In July this year, India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the ban on Pannun's organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for an additional five years. The ministry stated that SFJ had been involved in "anti-national and subversive activities in Punjab, aiming to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India."

connection with a case related to the promotion of terror activities and violence by SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. NIA teams searched premises in Moga, Bathinda, and Mohali, resulting in the seizure of various incriminating materials, including digital devices, which are currently under examination.