Indian Enquiry Team Probing Pannun Murder Plot Will Travel To Washington: US

An enquiry committee set up by India will travel to Washington, D.C. on October 15 to investigate the "failed plot" to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. According to a readout from the U.S. State Department, the committee's visit aims to discuss information gathered during the ongoing investigation and receive updates from U.S. authorities.

The State Department noted that the Indian Enquiry Committee is focusing on activities of organized criminals, specifically investigating an individual identified last year in a Department of Justice indictment as an Indian government employee linked to the foiled assassination plot.

“An Indian Enquiry Committee that was established to investigate activities of certain organized criminals is actively investigating the individual who was identified last year in the Department of Justice’s indictment as an Indian government employee who directed a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City,” it said.

The plot allegedly involved Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national charged by federal prosecutors in November for conspiring to kill Pannun, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada.

Prosecutors have claimed that Gupta was coordinating with the Indian government employee and had arranged to pay an assassin $100,000 for the operation in New York City. 

The Indian government has informed the U.S. that it continues to explore other connections related to the former government employee and will take necessary follow-up steps.