RAW involved in assassination plot of Pannun: Report

A RAW official identified as Vikram Yadav was involved in the assassination plot of Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US and the move was approved by the then Indian spy agency chief Samant Goel, according to an investigative media report published on Monday.

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Pannun is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement and the legal advisor and spokes for Sikhs for Justice person (SFJ), which aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh state. The Indian government has declared Pannun a terrorist.

In an investigative report, The Washington Post newspaper said, "That India would pursue lethal operations in North America has stunned Western security officials." "Yadav's identity and affiliation, which have not previously been reported, provide the most explicit evidence to date that the assassination plan ultimately thwarted by US authorities was directed from within the Indian spy service," the daily reported.

"Higher-ranking (Research and Analysis Wing) RAW officials have also been implicated, according to current and former Western security officials, as part of a sprawling investigation by the CIA, FBI and other agencies that has mapped potential links to (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) Modi's inner circle," it said.

The top American daily -- which is now owned by American billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder and head of Amazon -- said it is investigating a global surge in such campaigns of cross-border repression, as well as the global forces leading India and other nations to employ tactics normally associated with the world's most repressive governments.