Allegations regarding the assassination plot of Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US are being taken up seriously by India, the White House has said.
The remarks by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday followed a media report claiming that a RAW official identified as Vikram Yadav was involved in the assassination plot of Pannun in the US.
The report said the move was approved by the then Indian spy agency chief Samant Goel.
The While House, however, refrained from commenting on the FBI probe into the matter and the criminal case filed by the Department of Justice, PTI has reported.
Pannun is a top leader of the Khalistan movement and the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice, which aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh state.
He has been declared a terrorist by the Indian government.
Replying to questions on the report by The Washington Post, Jean-Pierre said an investigation is underway and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is running a criminal investigation.
"So anything specific to that I would have to refer you to the DOJ," she said.
The White House press secretary asserted that India was an important strategic partner of the United States and "we are pursuing an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation in several areas".
About the investigative report on alleged the assassination plot, Jean-Pierre said, "We've been really consistent about that and have laid that out multiple times, whether it's a meeting here with the prime minister or a meeting abroad."
Calling it a “serious matter” that “we're taking that very, very seriously,” she said the Government of India has been very clear with the US that it was taking it seriously and would investigate, Jean-Pierre said.
"We expect accountability from the government based on that. But we are going to continue to raise our concerns. That's not going to stop. We're going to continue to raise our concerns directly, with the Indian government," the press secretary added.
News of the alleged plot to kill Pannun in the US coincided with the June 18 fatal shooting of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in Canada's British Columbia province in.
Both plots took place amid a wave of violence in Pakistan, where at least 11 Sikh or Kashmiri separatists living in exile and labelled terrorists by the Narendra Modi government have been killed over the past two years, the report said.
Though senior Indian government officials named in the Washington Post did not respond to its request for comments, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said on April 25, "We have set up a high-level committee. The committee is looking into information that was shared by the American side with us, because they also equally impact our national security."
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on April 1 had said that India's national security interests are involved in its investigation into the alleged involvement of a government official in the assassination plot aimed at Khalistani extremist Pannun.
The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration has refrained from making charges against Yadav.
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