India on Thursday reacted sharply to a US district court’s summons to national security adviser Ajit Doval and three others on a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a pro-Khalistan leader designated as a terrorist by India.
New Delhi called the case “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated”.
Apart from Doval, the summons was issued to former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel, R&AW agent Vikram Yadav and businessman Nikhil Gupta.
“These allegations are inquired by a high level committee.. these are completely unwarranted, unsubstantiated imputations,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri said at a news meet on Thursday on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impending US visit on September 21.
“The person’s antecedents are well known and his organisation is unlawful under an Act,” Misra said.
Pannun is a designated terrorist since 2020.
The US court summons on Wednesday said: “Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) — you must serve on the plaintiff an answer…If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court.”
Earlier, India has denied links to the assassinations of overseas leaders of the Khalistani separatist movement. As per a report by The Washington Post, US authorities knew India had plans to assassinate Pannun, a Sikh separatist with US citizenship, “but officials emphasized that no smoking gun proof has emerged”.
Last year, in November, the US charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee in a failed plot to assassinate Pannun in New York.
Pannun founded the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in 2007, and holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. The Indian government outlawed the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in 2019 and extended the ban for another five years this July.
PM Modi will begin his trip on September 21 with the Quad Leaders’ Summit being hosted by President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware. Modi will then travel to New York and address a mega community event on Long Island on September 22. He will address world leaders at the landmark Summit of the Future event at the UN headquarters the next day.
