Top intelligence sources in India have rubbished as “baseless" the Financial Times’ report on November 22, which, citing unnamed sources, alleged that the US authorities had thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in their country and reportedly issued a warning to India over concerns that the government was involved. At the time of publishing this report, the foreign ministry and the U.S. embassy in New Delhi had not issued a statement.
The Financial Times said that the sources did not say if the protest to India resulted in the plot being abandoned by the plotters, or if it was foiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The protest to New Delhi was registered after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed on a state visit by President Joe Biden in June, the report said.
“The story is baseless and nothing was shared with the Indian government," said sources. “Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, leader of a banned pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), is definitely an accused for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), but that doesn’t mean we pick up a gun and start killing people. We have our own system and set-up to probe and investigate cases and we go by that," they said.
“Pannun is name as an accused in a number of cases and we are following up on his case through multiple channels. We have sent Letter Rogatories (LR) to a number of countries and are legitimately tracking the case," sources said.
They added that the Western countries are “building pressure" and are “leaking such stories" ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) team’s visit to India. “The Indian side is in regular touch with the US mission and counterparts in D.C. and no such thing ever came up," said sources.
REMINDER OF CLAIMS OVER NIJJAR
The relations between India and Canada were hit after Canada PM Justin Trudeau alleged in his Parliament the involvement of a “foreign agent" in the killing of Khalistan separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He even claimed that he had intelligence inputs and evidence that the Indian government could be behind Nijjar’s death. These allegations, which New Delhi has strongly denied, resulted in tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats on both sides.
Nijjar was killed by unidentified gunmen outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, on June 18. He was the chief of banned Khalistan Tiger Force, and was designated a terrorist by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2020. Interpol had also issued red corner notice against him quite a few times, the first one being in 2016.
CNN-News18 has already reported that no actionable intelligence on NIjjar was shared by Canada on the case, despite the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) communication with his counterparts at least 20 times.
WHO IS PANNUN? WHAT INTEL SOURCES SAY
Pannun is a US citizen who is misusing his access in the UK and Canada. He is responsible for acts of terrorism in multiple countries. The evidence of money being transferred from the UK and Canada for killing of Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders has already been placed.
CNN-News18 had earlier reported how Pannun is being funded by Pakistan’s ISI, citing top intelligence sources.
HIS RECENT ACTIVITIES
Inputs from Reuters and Agencies
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