Ex-RAW official declared ‘wanted’ by FBI in Gurpatwant Pannun murder plot case
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 (RAW).
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 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.
The picture is dated June 9, 2023. The name of the Sikh separatist, a US citizen, is not mentioned in the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Vikas Yadav along with his co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta plotted to kill the Sikh separatist leader in the summer of 2023. For this Nikhil Gupta hired an individual to do the kill job. The unidentified individual, who was an informant to the FBI asked for USD 100,000 for the job and received USD 15,000 as an advance payment on June 9, 2023.
What India said
The Indian government has denied its association or involvement with such a plot to kill an American national on US soil. Following allegations by the US, New Delhi had set up an inquiry committee to investigate the matter.
The US has expressed satisfaction on cooperation from India on this.
Unsealing of the second indictment comes within 48 hours of an Indian Enquiry Committee visiting the US to have a meeting with an inter-agency team of officials from the FBI, Department of Justice and the State Department on these issues.
“We are satisfied with the cooperation. It continues to be an ongoing process. We continue to work with them on that, but we do appreciate the cooperation, and we appreciate them updating us on their investigation as we update them on ours,” state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.