As team investigating assassination plot heads to Washington, India announces US accused arrested: report – Firstpost

India has told the United States that the Indian official accused of leading the plot to assassinate a US national has been arrested, according to a report.

The development comes ahead of a visit by the Indian team investigating the issue to the United States.

The development is linked to an ongoing case in the United States in which the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said an Indian official, identified only as “CC-1” in legal documents, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gaupta for murdering an American National. The DoJ said Gupta in turn solicited the services of another person for the assassination, but the plot was foiled because the person he contacted was an informant for U.S. law enforcement.

Gupta, who the Justice Department said described himself as a drug and arms dealer, was arrested last year and is currently in U.S. custody.

Now, Hindustan Times said that India has arrested the official identified as CC-1.

Although the DoJ did not name CC-1, the Washington Post identified the official as Vikram Yadav of the spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The target of the alleged assassination plot is believed to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist associated with the banned group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), an organization that is part of the Khalistani movement.

India shuts down CC-1, sacks its service: report

The Indian government removed CC-1 from service and shut it down, a US official told HT.

The official further told the newspaper that the Indian government had indicated that the high-level committee was continuing to look into the matter.

After the United States shared details of the plot, India formed a high-level committee to investigate the matter. Although the committee members were not publicly disclosed, they were shared with the United States, according to the newspaper.

The United States is “encouraged” by India’s steps, the official said.

“We are encouraged that this person is no longer a government employee. We were also informed that he was arrested on local charges. The Indian commission of inquiry is going to Washington DC and will also meet officials here,” the official said.

There has been “sustained commitment at the highest levels” to resolve this issue, according to the official.

There have been “frequent” and sustained exchanges between US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan and India’s NSA Ajit Doval as well as other officials at different levels, the official said.

Indian team in the United States at a time when Canada trains its weapons against diplomats

The US Department of State (DoS) announced that an Indian team to investigate the case would arrive in the US on Tuesday.

The DoS said in a media note that the team would discuss the matter, including information gathered so far, with U.S. officials. He further said that the US officials would also brief the Indian team about the progress of the matter.

“An Indian Commission of Inquiry, established to investigate the activities of certain organized criminals, is actively investigating the individual who was identified last year in the Justice Department’s indictment as an employee of the Indian government who led a foiled plot to assassinate an American citizen in New York. . The investigating committee will travel to Washington, D.C. on October 15, as part of its ongoing investigations, to discuss the case, including information it has obtained, and to receive an update from authorities regarding the ongoing US case,” the DoS said.

The memo was initially removed from the DoS website, although it remained with the journalists to whom it was emailed. The memo was later returned to journalists and republished on the website.

The Indian team’s visit and the announcement of CC-1’s arrest come at a time when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has plunged Indo-Canadian relations to an all-time low following allegations of Indian involvement. in the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep. Singh Nijjar. Last week, the Trudeau government declared senior Indian diplomats as persons of interest in the matter and then yesterday, Trudeau and his government accused India of running a veritable espionage and organized crime network in Canada covering espionage, intimidation and assassinations.

The US official cited above told HT that the Indian team’s visit is not linked to the Canadian government’s actions and was planned in advance.