FBI Director Wray To Arrives In India, Talks To Be Held On Pannun, Rana
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New Delhi: The two-day visit by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray starting today will see Washington and New Delhi thrash out several pending cases of investigation that continue to act as irritants between India and the US. While Wray’s maiden visit to India is solely focussed on the assassination bid of Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, New Delhi is all set to counter him by seeking the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the main planner of the 26/11 terrorist attacks.
During his two-day visit, Wray will be holding meetings with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, RAW chief Ravi Sinha, National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Dinkar Gupta and CBI Director Praveen Sood, apart from other senior officials from the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs.
The visit is believed to be a “follow-up” to the recent trip made by Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence in the US government, in October. During Haines’ visit, the US side had shared key evidence of the assassination plot. Haines is believed to have even apprised the Indian government about the impending US indictment that was being presented by federal prosecutors on November 29, high-level sources told ABP Live.
The FBI Director’s visit was planned during Haines’ trip when the alleged assassination plot to kill Pannun was discussed with Indian authorities. It was later confirmed during the NSA-level talks even as India activated back-channel talks with the US in the backdrop of the DOJ filing the indictment, according to the sources.
Last month the US Department of Justice had said in May this year, an individual identified in the indictment as ‘CC-1’ hired Nikhil Gupta, apparently a smuggler, to murder Pannun. Pannun has citizenship of both the US as well as Canada. According to the DOJ, CC-1 is an Indian government official working for the RAW.
The DOJ has also linked Pannun’s assassination plot with that of the killing of another Khalistani operative Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in Canada on June 18 this year. The Canadian government has since been asking the Indian government to cooperate in the investigation into Nijjar’s killing. The matter has given rise to a diplomatic row between both sides.
At the time of Nijjar’s killing, Gupta was believed to be in India. After the death of the Khalistani operative, Gupta was asked by CC-1 to also get Pannun murdered, who he said was a “priority now”. Subsequently, on June 30, Gupta came to Prague from India and was immediately arrested by the Czech authorities upon US’ request and since then he has been under detention there.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has said that the alleged assassination plot to kill Pannun is a “matter of concern” and is fully cooperating with the investigations as per the request of the US government. However, on the other hand, New Delhi went into loggerheads with Ottawa asking their diplomats to leave India.
During the two-day visit by Wray, India will also be taking up the extradition case of 26/11 terror attack mastermind Rana, a Canadian-Pakistani national, that has been pending for several years. In May this year, an American court had approved Rana’s extradition to India. Rana was arrested by US authorities in Chicago in October 2009. He was believed to have aided Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley.
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