India has said it is taking seriously allegations of plot to kill American citizen: US

Washington: India has stated it is taking seriously the allegations of a plot to kill an American citizen, the United States on Tuesday said as a team of visiting Indian officials had a meeting with the officials of the State Department and Department of Justice here.

“I don’t have a readout on the meeting yet. The meeting was here as a follow-up on conversations we have been having with the Government of India at the senior-most levels over the past several months,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.

“They have told us that they are taking the allegations seriously, that the activities contained in the DOJ indictment do not represent government policy,” Miller said in response to a question.

“So the meeting that happened this week or that is happening today by India’s inquiry was to discuss their active investigation into the matter, for us to update them on our active investigation into the matter, and to continue to share sides about steps that could happen in the days and weeks to come,” he said in response to a question.

The remarks came after an Indian enquiry committee established to investigate the American allegations of the involvement of an Indian government official in a foiled plot to assassinate a US national visited here on Tuesday.

In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Gupta, arrested in the Czech Republic in June last year, was extradited to the US on June 14.

India has denied the allegations but has constituted an internal investigations team to look into it.

Responding to another question, he said India continues to be an incredibly strong partner of the United States.

“We work with them on a number of matters, including our shared vision for a free, open, prosperous Indo-Pacific. And when we have concerns, we have the kind of relationship where we can take those concerns to them and have very frank, candid conversations about those concerns. And that’s what we’ve been doing,” Miller said.