File image of Vikas Yadav released by the United States Department of Justice.
US prosecutors accuse a former Indian government employee of directing a case to be botched Conspiracy to murder pro-Khalistan separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun In a case that has disrupted India-US relations and mirrors the 2023 murder in Canada.
The accused Vikas Yadav was identified as CC-1 in the original indictment filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2023. It comes nearly 11 months after the first US indictment exposed the alleged plot.
Another Indian, Nikhil Gupta was charged last year and is currently detained in BrooklynFollowing his arrest in the Czech Republic last year. It is alleged that Mr Yadav had recruited Mr Gupta to find a hitman and kill Pannun.
Who is Vikas Yadav?
On Friday, US prosecutors in New York announced the filing of “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges” against “Indian government employee Vikas Yadav, alias “Vikas”, alias “Amanat”, for his role in directing A plot to assassinate an American citizen was foiled in New York City,
According to the United States District Court’s sealed superseding indictment, Mr. Yadav was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India, which includes India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (“RAW”). Mr Yadav described his position as a “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management” and “intelligence”. He has also served in India’s largest paramilitary force – the Central Reserve Police Force.
According to the ‘wanted’ notice issued by the FBI, Mr Yadav was born in Haryana in 1984 and used “Amanat” as an alias while conversing with his co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta to execute the murder plot. Had done. He was an “Assistant Commandant” in the CRPF with command of a 135-member company.
The DoJ document alleges that Mr Yadav provided the victim’s residential addresses, phone numbers and other identifying information to the Indian national in furtherance of the conspiracy.
The State Department has said that the “individual named in the US indictment in the Pannun case” is no longer an employee of the Government of India“The US State Department informed us that the individual named in the indictment is no longer employed in India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced at a press briefing.
Also read: Pannun case: India says media reports are unfair, baseless allegations
What is the conspiracy of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder case?
US officials believe this to be an alleged plot to kill a pro-Khalistani Sikh separatist. Gurpatwant Singh PannunThe operation, which is wanted on terror charges in India, was ordered by the former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), and had official approval from senior intelligence officials “with links to the inner circle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. Was. Washington PostAn American-national daily reported.
The Pannun murder conspiracy involved: An assassination attempt targeting Sikh separatist leader was foiled Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a vocal critic of the Indian government and advocate of a separate Sikh state, Khalistan. Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, was allegedly targeted by Indian intelligence in a murder-for-hire plot. US officials accused former Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav of orchestrating the plan. According to the indictment, Mr. Yadav collaborated with other Indian agents to carry out the conspiracy in New York City in 2023.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Yadav conspired with his co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta to murder the Sikh separatist leader. For this Mr. Gupta employed a person. The unidentified individual, who was an FBI informant, asked for $100,000 for the job and received $15,000 as an advance payment due on June 9, 2023.
What is the role of Vikas Yadav in Nijjar murder case?
Relations between India and Canada have been under severe strain since September last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his Parliament that there was evidence linking Indian agents to it. Murder of Sikh separatist Nijjar, who was shot dead in Surrey, Canada in June 2023,
The indictment shows there was a connection between the killing of Sikh separatist Nijjar in Canada during the same period. Federal prosecutors have shared communications between Mr. Yadav, Mr. Gupta and the alleged killer in both incidents.
Also read: Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose murder has divided Canada and India?
While Mr Gupta was arrested, Mr Yadav is still at large and the investigation is ongoing amid tense geopolitical relations between India and Canada.
published – October 18, 2024 11:34 am IST