\u201cIf a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we\u2019re ready to look into it.
\nNew Delhi
\nIndia will look into any information it receives on its alleged links to a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader in the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Financial Times newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.
\nThe issue comes at a delicate juncture for both India and the Biden administration in the United States as they try to build closer ties in the face of shared concerns about China\u2019s growing power.
\n\u201cIf someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it,\u201d Modi told the paper, as he played down any impact on diplomatic ties with Washington because of the issue.
\n\u201cIf a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law.\u201d
\nLast month the U.S. Justice department said an Indian government official had directed the plot, and unveiled charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder.
\nIndia expressed concern about the linkage and dissociated itself from the plot, saying it would formally investigate the concerns of the United States, and take \u2018necessary follow-up action\u2019 on the findings of a panel set up on Nov. 18.
\nU.S. officials have named the target of the attempted murder as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
\nPannun is the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, a group that India labelled an \u201cunlawful association\u201d in 2019, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Subsequently, in 2020, India listed Pannun as an \u201cindividual terrorist\u201d.
\nNews of the U.S. plot came two months after Canada said it was looking at credible allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, in a Vancouver suburb.
\nIndia fiercely rejected Ottawa\u2019s accusations.
\nModi said India and Washington shared a \u201cmature and stable partnership\u201d.
\n\u201cSecurity and counter-terrorism co-operation has been a key component of our partnership,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIf a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we\u2019re ready to look into it. New Delhi India will look into any information it receives on its alleged links to a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader in the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Financial Times newspaper in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-375966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n