The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has alleged that the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is involved in assassination plots against Khalistani separatists and has sought to impose sanctions on the Indian spy agency, according to a report.
The US panel went on to urge the federal government to designate India as a "country of particular concern" due to violations of religious freedom under the Narendra Modi government.
The commission claim that the treatment of Indian minorities is worsening, reported news agency Reuters.
The Centre is yet to respond to the allegations levelled by the religious freedom panel. However, India has strongly responded to USCIRF's previous claims on similar lines. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on May 2, 2024, slammed the USCIRF as a "biased organisation with a political agenda". He said the panel publishes their propaganda by masquerading it as an annual report.
The USCIRF is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India, masquerading as part of an annual report. We really have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India's diverse, pluralistic and democratic… pic.twitter.com/mOfkLhC4SK
— DD India (@DDIndialive) May 2, 2024
"We really have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India's diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise in the world will never succeed," Jaiswal said.
Another country against which the commission made allegations was the communist-ruled Vietnam, saying the Southeast Asian nation has intensified its control on religious affairs.
This comes months after the US Justic Department charged Vikash Yadav, a former RAW official, in connection with an assassination plot against Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The FBI booked him with conspiracy to hire a hitman, murder-for-hire plot and money laundering.
In the indictment, the agency alleged that Yadav recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen, to carry out the murder-for-hire plot in exchange for getting his criminal case quashed. However, the plan was foiled after Gupta unknowingly hired an undercover US law enforcement officer. Following this, Gupta was arrested in Czech Republic and later extradited to the US.
On the other hand, Vikash was arrested by Delhi Police in 2023 over an alleged kidnapping and extortion case. The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that Vikash was "no longer an employee of the government of India."
