Who Is CC1? US Confirms Key Figure In Pannun Plot No Longer Indian Official

The United States has confirmed that the individual identified as “CC1” in a Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment related to the alleged foiled assassination plot of US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is no longer employed by the Indian government. This revelation was made by Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Miller added that the White House is satisfied with India’s cooperation in the investigation, noting that a meeting with the Indian Inquiry Committee regarding the plot had been productive. “It was a productive meeting. They did inform us that the individual named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government,” Miller said. He further stated, “We are satisfied with the cooperation. It continues to be an ongoing process, but we appreciate the updates and mutual cooperation between both nations.”

The DOJ indictment had previously identified “CC1” as an official of the Indian government allegedly directing an assassination plot against Pannun, a designated terrorist in India and an American national, in New York in June 2023. Reports from earlier in the year had identified CC1 as Vikram Yadav. India had informed the US that CC1 had been arrested.

In November, US prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, for conspiring to assassinate Pannun. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and extradited to the US in June, where he pleaded not guilty. Indian authorities have denied any involvement but have launched an internal investigation into the matter. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also extended the ban on Pannun’s organization, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for another five years due to its anti-national activities aimed at destabilizing India.