The United States has charged Vikash Yadav, a former officer of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in connection with a failed assassination plot targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Khalistani separatist leader, in New York.
US Federal prosecutors announced the charges, which include conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money laundering, in an indictment unsealed in a New York court. The indictment follows nearly 11 months after the initial allegations emerged.
Who is Vikash Yadav?
Yadav, 39, is alleged to have directed the plot against Pannun starting in May 2023, working with associates both in India and abroad. He is currently at large, believed to be in India, and US authorities are expected to pursue extradition efforts. The statement was released by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, has already been charged and extradited to the United States in connection with the plot.
The FBI has placed Yadav on its wanted list and issued a federal arrest warrant for him on October 10. He faces multiple charges, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, both of which carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering, which could result in a 20-year sentence.
Yadav is employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, part of the Prime Minister’s Office, and is a senior field officer with responsibilities in security and intelligence. He is also a former Assistant Commandant in the Central Reserve Police Force, where he commanded a 135-man company and received specialised training in counter-intelligence, battlecraft, weapons, and parachuting, as per the indictment.
According to the indictment, Yadav directed Pannun's assassination plot from India who was residing in New York City. Pannun is a prominent Khalistani leader of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), an organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab from India to establish an independent Sikh homeland Khalistan. The Indian government has classified Khalistani separatists, including SFJ members, as terrorists.
The plot allegedly began in May 2023 when Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the murder. Gupta contacted an individual he thought was a criminal associate, who was a confidential source working with the DEA, for assistance in hiring a hitman, states the indictment. This source introduced Gupta to a DEA undercover officer posing as a hitman. Yadav and Gupta reportedly agreed to pay the undercover officer $100,000 for the murder, and they arranged for $15,000 in cash to be delivered as an advance payment.
In June 2023, Yadav provided Gupta with personal details about the victim, including addresses and phone numbers, and directed him to keep providing updates on the assassination plot. Gupta sent Yadav surveillance photographs of the victim and insisted that the murder not occur around the time of PM Modi's official visit to the US, which was set for June 20, 2023.
Gupta allegedly traveled to the Czech Republic to coordinate the assassination, but US law enforcement intervened before the plot could be executed, successfully thwarting the attempt on the life of the intended target, Pannun.
The US Department of Justice has stated that the assassination plan was conceived following the June 2023 murder of another Khalistani separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada. Following Nijjar's death, Yadav reportedly felt it was the right time to proceed with the assassination of Pannun.
These allegations have heightened tensions between the US and India, with Washington urging New Delhi to investigate the involvement of its officials in the assassination plot. Indian authorities have since informed the US that Yadav is no longer an employee of the Indian government.
The revelations emerged shortly after a meeting in Washington between US officials and an Indian inquiry committee investigating the situation. The US has expressed satisfaction with India's cooperation, with the State Department confirming Yadav's departure from government service.
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