Why the Rambo script won’t work in India

One only has to read the publicly available indictment (charge-sheet) against Nikhil Gupta, a facilitator in the alleged conspiracy, to conclude that this is not the end of the Pannun saga. There could be further bleeding — for example, it notes that “on or about June 12, 2023, the UC (US undercover agent) received a video call from Gupta, who appeared to be in a conference room. During the call, Gupta turned the camera toward approximately three other men in the room who were dressed in business attire, sitting around a conference table with Gupta. As Gupta turned the camera back toward himself, he told the UC ‘we are all counting on you’.”

One can safely assume that the ‘three other men’ in ‘business attire’ in the room, plotting the assassination with Gupta, have by now been identified. Their identity is always in danger of being revealed.

There is more. The Washington Post report also reveals that after being lured to Prague, as Gupta exited Vaclav Havel Airport, he “was intercepted by Czech police, who ushered him into a vehicle in which two US federal agents were waiting, according to court filings submitted by Gupta’s family in India. He was questioned for hours while the car meandered around the city. His laptop was seized and his phone held to his face to unlock it.”

In other words, before Gupta was put in jail facing extradition, the US agents squeezed him dry of the information needed. The US agents already have the contents of his laptop, his list of contacts, and the messages and texts he exchanged. They have more names of those involved. This too can come out in the future.

Modi, therefore, is under pressure with his ambition to be accepted as a statesman on a par with the other global leaders seriously damaged. Canada has already put India in a corner by accusing it of ordering the assassination of its citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Now Australia, a crucial member of the Quad along with India, has also pushed back by revealing how a “nest of spies” from India was operating in Australia, trying to steal trade and defence secrets, and monitoring the Indian diaspora community.

These serial revelations show India as an untrustworthy ally. While spying may be a normal State activity, recklessly expanding its span of operations has resulted in India’s friends drawing a red line, which they believe the Modi regime has crossed.

Modi’s ambitions for India, and perhaps for himself, have already been scaled down from ‘Vishwaguru’ (World Leader) to ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ (Friend of the World) in his party’s election manifesto. It is being made clear to him and subsequent Indian governments that follow, that no one expects a friend to enter their homes and commit a criminal offence and still be accepted as a buddy.