U.S. talks to India about reported link to assassination plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

New Delhi — U.S. officials have spoken with their counterparts in India about allegations that the South Asian nation may have been involved in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on U.S. soil, the U.S. National Security Council said Wednesday. The plot targeted Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S.-Canadian dual national designated a terrorist by India's government, according to the Financial Times, which first reported on the story Wednesday.

The FT, citing anonymous sources, said "U.S. authorities thwarted" the murder conspiracy and "issued a warning to India's government over concerns it was involved in the plot."

The NSC, in a statement provided Wednesday to CBS News, said it was treating the matter "with utmost seriousness."