India says ‘Rogue’ Operative Planned Pannun Assassination

On 20 Mar Bloomberg reported India’s investigation into US claims of attempted murder of Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York in June 2023. India says rogue operatives not authorized by the govt. were involved. Since the trial begun by the US on 29 Nov 2023 is still on in a New York court, the operative cannot be named (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 12, Story 1). He is still employed by the Indian Research and Analysis Wing and the Indian govt. has not pursued criminal action against him. New Delhi has informed US authorities about the findings from the govt.-appointed panel set up to probe the allegations. US prosecutors alleged the Indian govt. agent — a ‘senior field officer’ in security management and intelligence — instructed Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national with ties to criminal networks, to organize the assassination. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and is awaiting extradition to the US. The revelation poses more questions than it answers. First, is India admitting its top intelligence agency has one or more rogue agents? This is a serious security breach. Second, if such an agent has been identified, why has the Indian govt. not taken action? On the other hand, if India is dodging US prosecutors’ queries by blaming an unnamed rogue operative, then it is a serious breach in international relations and transparency among governments. India has not made public any details of the high-level committee set up to investigate the US allegations.