Relations between India and America are increasing over the alleged conspiracy to kill Khalistani terrorist and Sikh for Justice founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu on American soil.
The Biden administration, through its lawmakers, has demanded action against Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta allegedly involved in this episode and warned that failure to do so could harm bilateral relations.
This matter took an important and serious turn on Friday, when five Indian-American lawmakers issued a statement saying that if Indian authorities do not investigate the matter properly, it could affect the relations between the two countries.
All these Indian-origin MPs belong to the ruling Democratic Party.
These MPs revealed that the Biden administration had informed them about this. The statement said that the Biden administration has assured them of the culpability of Indian citizens and officials in the conspiracy to murder Pannu. His statement has raised alarm in Washington.
The statement was issued by California Democrat MP Ami Bera, whose constituency Sacramento County has a large Sikh population. The statement is also signed by Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal (Washington State), Raja Krishnamurthy (Illinois) and Shri Thanedar (Michigan).
The joint statement said that as Congress members, the safety and well-being of the people of our parliamentary constituency is of utmost importance to us.
The US Justice Department says an Indian government official, whose name has not been disclosed, was in contact with Nikhil Gupta and other government officials.
These people were conspiring to murder a political activist in America, who is of Indian origin and an American citizen (Gurpatwant Singh Pannu).
America has claimed that the task of killing Pannu was assigned to Nikhil Gupta by an Indian officer. After this Nikhil Gupta searched for a hitman, who was an informer of the American police.
The American claim states that an amount of one lakh US dollars i.e. Rs 83 lakh was fixed to the killer for the murder of Pannu.