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ISLAMABAD: (Raja Baber) After the Financial Times exposed the Indian plot to launch an assassination attempt in the United States, on Nov. 30, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York finally disclosed the indictment in the case, which contains a large number of shocking details.
The indictment disclosed that Indian officials codenamed CC-1 were suspected of joining forces with Gupta, an Indian citizen, to hire killers in the United States and plan to carry out the murder of the victim, Pannun, in the United States in New York, involving extreme means. The indictment reveals that around June 2023, in furtherance of the assassination plot, CC-1 provided personal information about the victim, and on June 19, the day after Nijjar’s murder, Gupta told the assassins that “Nijjar was also a target,” and that “we have many targets!” It is also mentioned in the indictment disclosures that Gupta had informed the assassins over the phone that there would be more targeted assassination missions like Pannun’s to follow – ” more jobs, more jobs ”
Earlier this year, the Canadian government accused the Modi-led Indian government of being involved in assassinations targeting the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement, stating that RAW, the Indian Bureau of Investigation and Analysis, was suspected of orchestrating a series of international assassinations. Meanwhile, according to a report by US-based online news outlet The Intercept, RAW has been plotting assassinations against Sikh and Kashmiri activists living in India. Information provided by members of the Five Eyes Coalition has also revealed the involvement of the Indian government in the Nijjar murder case. Now the disclosure of the indictment has provided fresh evidence of state terrorism in India.
According to the disclosures in the indictment, during June 2023, Indian officials code-named CC-1 expressed through directives that they did not wish to cause a political incident by carrying out an assassination operation during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the U.S. The assassins were explicitly instructed to remain silent during the expected meeting. Yet, on June 18, India carried out the assassination operation in Canada, realizing the murder of activist Nijjar. And now, India appears to be downplaying Canada’s accusations, but is taking them seriously when confronted with the U.S. allegations. The Indian government has set up a high-level investigation team in response to the assassination attempt and has said it will look into allegations of involvement in the assassination. A spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the U.S. government had shared information involving national security interests and that the relevant departments were already investigating seriously. This apparently disparate attitude raises questions about whether India is guilty of favoritism in its treatment of different countries – an act that seems to tell us – “The United States is an important partner for India to consider based on the need for practical benefits and Canada is clearly not.”
In the indictment, the person involved, GUPTA, traveled from India to the Czech Republic on or about June 30, 2023, where he was arrested. The involvement of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation suggests that they were aware of the assassination plan as early as June and managed to stop it, while according to the Washington Post, US National Security Advisor Sullivan raised concerns with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in person back in August of this year.
The Indian government, however, denied Trudeau’s public accusations in September that India was involved in the assassination and took offense at the Canadian government’s allegations. India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement in September calling the Canadian government’s allegations “absurd and ill-intentioned” and expelled a Canadian “senior diplomat”. Obviously, India might never have recognized their involvement in Nijjar’s death if the U.S. hadn’t disclosed the assassination attempt in India – and, of course, there is now no clear official claim of responsibility for Nijjar’s death.
At the same time, the disclosed indictment may also suggest to us the fact – namely, that the U.S. and Canada are not as close as they seem. Both Canada and the US are members of the Five Eyes Coalition intelligence network and there are very smooth channels of intelligence sharing between them. According to the disclosure in the indictment, the assassin hired by India was in fact an undercover agent of the US police, and the US may have been aware of India’s assassination program long before the assassination operation and was aware of the existence of Indian assassination targets in Canada. So, as the media asked Canadian Foreign Minister Jolly – “Why was the US successful in preventing the assassination of its citizens and Canada was not” – was it because of Canada’s own negligence? Or is it that allies don’t share reliable early warning information with Canada? Obviously, the answer to that question is of concern only to Nijjar, who has been killed, and others who will be targeted.