NEW YORK — The panel set up by India to enquire into allegations about a
murder-for-hire plot against a US-based Khalistani and US government agencies
have been exchanging briefings, according to State Department Spokesperson
Matthew Miller.
“We have been regularly briefing them on the results of our
investigation”, he said on Tuesday at a briefing for foreign correspondents.
And “not just the State Department but other agencies inside
the United States Government” as well, “have been receiving reports from them
(India) about their own commission of inquiry”, he said.
India had set up the panel last year to “look into all
aspects of the matter” after the US filed charges against an Indian citizen,
Nikhil Gupta, alleging that he was involved in a murder-for-hire plot in New
York against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani leader.
This year a former police officer who had worked with RAW,
Vikash Yadav, was also charged as an alleged co-conspirator.
Asked if the matter had been discussed during Assistant
Secretary of State Donald Lu's recent trip to India, Miller said that he could
not speak about the visit, but added, “I can tell you in all of our
senior-level engagements with the Government of India, this is a matter that we
raise.”
“What we have emphasised to them is that what we ultimately
want to see for this crime is accountability”, he said.
Gupta has denied the charges in the US federal court where
he is being tried after being arrested in the Czech Republic and extradited to
the US.
Miller denied allegations by the BJP that the State
Department was trying to destabilise India.
“It’s completely not true”, he said.
BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged this month that acting
in conjunction with the State Department, US “deep state” elements have
colluded with some journalists and some political leaders to derail India’s
growth by making unsubstantiated allegations without a “shred of evidence.”
He referred to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project (OCCRP), whose reports have been used by Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Patra said that according to reports, the project receives
funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and “deep
state figures” like billionaire gadfly George Soros.
Miller did not address whether the project received funding
from USAID, an agency that works closely with the State Department, but said,
“We provide professional development training for journalists around the world
as part of the commitment that we have to freedom of expression and press
freedom.
“For that somehow to be associated with undermining what is
a close partner of the United States is just absurd.”
