New Delhi: India on Thursday said that the linking of an Indian official in a case filed by US prosecutors against an Indian citizen for directing a conspiracy to assassinate a US citizen was a “matter of concern”.A day earlier, US prosecutors filed a 15-page detailed indictment alleging that an “identified Indian government employee” was behind a plot of assassinate a US citizen who runs a pro-Khalistan group that is banned by India. While the indictment does not name the target, it is understood that the attempt was made on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, head of the ‘Sikhs for Justice’ NGO in the US.The court filings charged Indian resident Nikhil Gupta, who had allegedly been the go-between between the Indian government official (‘CC-1’) and the ‘criminal associate’ and a ‘hitman’, both of whom were actually working for US law enforcement authorities.In his first post-indictment reaction, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said, let me reiterate, that this is also contrary to government policy.”He reiterated India’s characterisation of the US concerns as being related to criminal activity. “The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gunrunning and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for the law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is for that reason that a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted and we will be guided by its results,” Bagchi said at a media briefing.The MEA had issued a statement on Wednesday, just ahead of release of the fresh indictment, that India had set up an inquiry committee to look into the US ‘plot’ on November 18. The government had not spoken of the committee when the US ‘concerns’ were first reported by the media – and then confirmed by the White House – on November 22.“As we have informed earlier, during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others,” he said.While stating that “necessary follow-up action” will be taken based on the Enquiry Committee’s follow-up, Bagchi added, “We cannot share any further information on such security matters.”Contrasting India’s response to concerns raised by US and Canada about targeting of their citizens, Bagchi continued with New Delhi’s tough stance against Ottawa. “In so far as Canada is concerned, we have said that they have consistently given space to anti-India extremists and that is actually the heart of the issue. Our diplomatic representatives in Canada have borne the brunt of this. So, we expect the Government of Canada to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We have also seen interference by Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and that is unacceptable,” he said.The indictment filed by US federal prosecutor clearly indicated that Nikhil Gupta had been aware of a ‘big target’ in Canada in June.On the night of June 18, following the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Canada, the indictment stated, “CC-1 sent GUPTA a video clip showing Nijjar’s bloody body slumped in his vehicle”.This is a significant point in the court filing as it indicated that US authorities had obtained electronic communications that linked the Indian government official directly to Nijjar’s killing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made this claim of alleged involvement of Indian government agents in September this year, which New Delhi had instantly dismissed. The Union government took subsequent steps that led to 41 Canadian diplomats leaving India.