White House National Security Council
spokesperson John Kirby stressed US continues to improve its strategic
partnership with Bharat. However, US “takes this very seriously,” referring to
the indictment by the US Department of Justice against an Indian in an alleged
foiled assassination plot.
Kirby said, “India remains a strategic
partner, and we are going to continue to work to improve and strengthen that
strategic partnership with India.”
Referring to the US Justice Department
indictment of an Indian national in an alleged foiled assassination plot in US,
Kirby added, “At the same time, we take this very seriously. These allegations
and this investigation, we take very seriously.”
He further said US is glad to see that
India is also taking it seriously by announcing their “own efforts to
investigate this.”
“We have been clear that we want to see
anybody that’s responsible for these alleged crimes to be held properly
accountable…,” Kirby stressed.
The US Department of Justice unsealed an
indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled
plot to assassinate a US-based leader of the Sikh Separatist Movement and a
citizen in New York.
The US Justice Department has claimed
that an Indian Government employee (named CC-1), who was not identified in the
indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national
named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to allegedly carry out the assassination of
the Sikh Separatist, which was foiled by US authorities.
The US Justice Department claimed that
Gupta, is an associate of CC-1, and has described his involvement in
international narcotics and weapons trafficking in his communications with
CC-1. The indictment claims CC -1 directed the assassination plot from India.
Moreover, in a news briefing the MEA on
Thursday said a case filed against an individual in a US court and allegedly
linking him to an Indian official is a “matter of concern” and is contrary to
government policy.
“We cannot share any further information
on such security matters. As regards the case against an individual that has
been filed in a US court allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a
matter of concern. We have said and let me reiterate that this is contrary to
government policy,” stated MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
“The nexus between organised crime,
trafficking and gun running and extremists at an international level is a
serious issue for law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it
is precisely for that reason that a high-level committee has been constituted
and we will obviously be guided by its results,” he added.
ANI
