A US court has issued summons to the Indian government and senior officials in connection with the attempted murder of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. “The Centre has reacted strongly to this and as we have said before, these are totally unfair and baseless charges,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a statement. “Now that this case has been registered, our view on this will not change. I just want to draw attention to the man behind this case, whose history is well known.”
I also want to highlight the fact that the organisation headed by this person (Pannu) is an illegal organisation and has been banned under UAPA. This step has been taken as the organisation is involved in anti-national and sabotage activities,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
The Southern District Court of New York has summoned National Security Advisor to the Indian government Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goyal. Summons have also been sent to murder accused Nikhil Gupta and Vikram Yadav.
Nikhil Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic at the request of the US government for his involvement in a conspiracy to murder Pannu in New York last year and was extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States in June this year.
In April 2024, The Washington Post reported that Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer Vikram Yadav was involved in the conspiracy, and the report also mentioned that the then RAW chief Samant Goyal approved the action. However, the center denied the report, saying that the claim that Indian agents were involved in the conspiracy to murder Pannu was completely unfair and unfounded.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannu?
Let us tell you that Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who holds dual citizenship of the United States and Canada, is wanted in India on charges of terrorism. Pannu is the head of the Khalistan organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). Pannu is a supporter of Khalistan, a lawyer by profession, and the main organizer of referendums demanding the establishment of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan. These referendums were held in countries with a large Indian diaspora, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Originally from the village of Nathu Chak in Punjab, Pannu received his early education in Ludhiana and later settled in Khankot near Amritsar. Pannu’s father, Mahinder Singh, was the secretary of the Punjab State Marketing Board. He is believed to have obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Punjab in the 1990s. He was actively involved in politics right from his college days. He went abroad thereafter. For the initial few years, he worked as a taxi driver there. Later he started practicing law. In 2007, he founded SFJ and became a staunch supporter of Khalistan.
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