Washington Post report on ‘hit team’ to kill Pannun ‘unsubstantiated’: India

New Delhi: India on Monday rubbished the allegations that an Indian intelligence officer had hired a hit team to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, calling it “unwarranted and unsubstantiated".

The Washington Post on Sunday reported citing US intelligence agencies that Samant Goel, the then chief of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), approved of the operation to kill Pannun.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that ‘The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter.’

Calling the report ‘speculative and irresponsible’ Jaiswal added that "There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists, and others."

However, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was earlier quoted as saying India would enter Pakistan and kill anyone who escaped to the country after committing terrorist activities in India.

Singh’s remarks followed a report by British newspaper The Guardian alleging that Indian government killed 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of the country’s plan to eliminate terrorists living in foreign countries.

Singh reportedly said that "India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbouring countries... But if anyone shows India the angry eyes again and again, comes to India and tries to promote terrorist activities, we will not spare them."

The US Justice Department claimed that an Indian government employee, (named CC-I) recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hit man to allegedly kill the Sikh separatist.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India was behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, which India dismissed.