How can US-India friendship survive alleged murder-for-hire plot? Because both need an ally to counter China

Both the US and India need an ally to counter a rising China, so they may look past the alleged assassination attempt by an Indian official on a US citizen

The plot against the Sikh separatist played out differently from a similar case in Canada, which sparked a diplomatic row, and had India denying Canada’s claims

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Because US President Joe Biden (left) and India’s Narendra Modi need an ally to counter a rising China, a recent alleged murder attempt by an Indian official on a US citizen, may be glossed over. Photo: Pool/AP

Published: 10:00am, 2 Dec 2023Updated: 10:08am, 2 Dec 2023

A brazen murder-for-hire plot against a US citizen, which authorities say was directed by an Indian government official, outwardly seems like a development that could upend the fragile new US-India partnership.

But the countries – each eager for an ally to counterbalance a rising China – appear ready to try to look past the assassination attempt detailed in a US indictment released on Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said the unnamed Indian official, whose responsibilities include security and intelligence, and Indian national Nikhil Gupta, 52, plotted this summer to kill a New York City resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.

They did so – exchanging messages with an undercover DEA agent about the planned assassination – even as President Joe Biden was honouring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state visit to the White House on June 22.

US officials named the target as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was allegedly the target of an assassination attempt by an Indian official. Photo: AP

US officials, after learning about the plot in late July, demanded that India investigate, a senior administration official said. Biden dispatched his CIA chief to New Delhi and raised the issue with Modi during a September summit, outlining “the potential repercussions for our bilateral relationship were similar threats to persist,” the official said.