New Delhi: United States on Friday charged a former Indian government official whom it identified as Vikash Yadav for allegedly masterminding a foiled plot to kill US citizen and pro-Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil last year. The charges come in the wake of a visit by members of a high-level Indian government probe committee to the US.
According to media reports, the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York said it had registered “murder-for-hire and money laundering” charges against Yadav for trying to kill Pannun.
The latest developments could come as an international embarrassment for India, which has said it is cooperating with the United States, which in turn could ask New Delhi for Yadav’s extradition.
Earlier this year, the US media reports had identified the mastermind behind the Pannun plot as Vikram Yadav. However, his first name was officially revealed on Friday to be Vikash and his photographs were also officially released, including one that seemed to be in combat fatigue.
At the time of the alleged plot, Yadav was an Indian government official reportedly working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, but the Indian government on Thursday had confirmed that he was no longer in government service.
The US had earlier accused Yadav of directing another Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta to kill Pannun. Gupta is now in the custody of the United States after being extradited by the Czech authorities in June this year, who had arrested him earlier.
According to media reports, the indictment states that around June last year, Yadav had provided Gupta with personal information about the victim, including the victim’s home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with the victim and details about the victim’s day-to-day conduct.
The indictment describes Yadav as a “citizen and resident of India” who had also been referred to as Vikas and Amanat. The indictment further stated that he was part of the government of India’s Cabinet secretariat, under which the RAW operates and that Yadav had described his position as “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management” and “intelligence”.
According to the indictment, he had also served in India’s paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and had received training in “battlecraft and weapons”.
A purported FBI notice described Yadav as a man “wanted” by American law and said he and his co-conspirator (Gupta) had arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash in New York as an advance payment to carry out the killing that was ultimately foiled. It said a federal arrest warrant was issued for Yadav in the US district court in the southern district of New York on October 10 after he was charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money laundering conspiracy. It also reportedly said that persons with any information on Yadav can contact the local FBI office (in the US) or the nearest American embassy or consulate (abroad).
