SOURCE: AFI
According to a report in The Sunday Guardian, U.S. intelligence agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, were allegedly preparing to arrest a former official from India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) during a planned private family trip to the United States. The operation was reportedly called off after Indian intelligence agencies received a tip-off, leading to the cancellation of the official’s travel plans. The identity of the official has not been confirmed, but speculations suggest it could have been Samant Goel, the former head of R&AW, who the U.S. has reportedly linked to a plot against Khalistani terrorist facilitator Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
While details remain unclear, there is widespread speculation that the retired official in question could be Samant Goel, who served as the chief of R&AW until 2023. Goel has been a significant figure in India’s intelligence community and has played a pivotal role in counterterrorism operations, particularly against separatist movements, including Khalistani elements.
The U.S. government has reportedly accused Goel of being involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Khalistani separatist leader and the head of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) organization. Pannun is on India’s most-wanted list due to his efforts to propagate pro-Khalistan sentiment and instigate violence through his separatist agenda. The U.S., however, views him differently, and his connections within the American legal framework make him a figure of contention between the two countries.
This latest revelation brings to mind the diplomatic crisis that arose in December 2013, when Devyani Khobragade, then the Deputy Consul General of India in New York, was arrested by U.S. authorities on charges of visa fraud and false statements regarding the employment of her domestic worker. The arrest sparked a major diplomatic row between the U.S. and India, with India accusing the U.S. of breaching diplomatic protocols and mistreating Khobragade.
Khobragade’s case strained U.S.-India relations, as the arrest was seen in India as an unnecessary humiliation of a diplomat. The Indian public and government were outraged by the arrest and subsequent strip search of Khobragade, leading to retaliatory actions by India, such as reducing U.S. diplomatic privileges in the country.
This potential arrest of a high-ranking former R&AW official, especially someone with as much influence as Goel, could have had similar repercussions, straining relations between New Delhi and Washington even further. According to the report, it seems the FBI and CIA were gearing up for another high-profile arrest that could corner India and create a diplomatic uproar.
The tensions over the Khalistani issue have escalated in recent years, particularly with the rise of social media propaganda and the diaspora’s political activism in Western countries. India has long expressed frustration over what it perceives as a lack of cooperation from countries like the U.S. in tackling this issue.