Vikas Yadav has been charged by the US authorities for his alleged role in a foiled plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
Vikas Yadav, a former Indian government official, has been charged by the US authorities for his alleged role in a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil around the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Justice Department on Thursday announced criminal charges against Vikas Yadav, 39, who was employed by the cabinet secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
On Thursday in New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to a query on the person identified in the indictment of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in connection with the case, confirmed that the person is “no longer an employee of the government of India”.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also put Vikas Yadav on its list of “wanted” fugitives.
Who is Vikas Yadav and what are charges against him?
- Vikas Yadav faces “murder-for-hire and money laundering” charges in connection with his role in directing a foiled plot to kill pro-Khalistan leader Khalistani Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
- He “remains at large”, the Department of Justice said.
- Vikas Yadav had been identified only as “CC-1” (co-conspirator) in the first indictment.
- “The defendant, an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil for exercising their First Amendment rights,” said FBI director Christopher Wray.
- The criminal associate referred to here is a person called Nikhil Gupta who was arrested in the Czech Republic and extradited to the US to face trial in the alleged plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Nikhil Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last year and is languishing in a US jail after extradition.
- “Today’s charges demonstrate that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled,” US attorney general Merrick B Garland said.
- The FBI has also issued a ‘wanted’ poster with three images of Vikas Yadav According to the FBI, a federal warrant of arrest against him was issued on October 10.
- Vikas Yadav, also known as “Vikas” and “Amanat”, according to the indictment, is the second person to be charged in connection with the case.
- According to the indictment, “Yadav has described his position as a ‘senior field officer’ with responsibilities in ‘security management’ and ‘intelligence’. Yadav also has previously served in India’s Central Reserve Police Force and received ‘officer training’ in ‘battle craft’ and ‘weapons’. Yadav is a citizen and resident of India, and he directed the plot to assassinate the victim from India,” it said.
- However, one of Vikas Yadav’s photographs shows him in Army combat uniform, but does not carry any rank epaulets. The US indictment says that he was originally from the CRPF and was an “Assistant Commandant”.
- Running into 18 pages, the indictment posts also gives a picture of two persons exchanging dollars in a car in New York, which federal prosecutors said was the money being paid to the alleged killer by a person on behalf of Nikhil Gupta and Vikas Yadav to assassinate the Sikh separatist leader in New York.
