New Delhi: Almost 11 months after the US first accused an unnamed Indian official, CC-1, of allegedly trying to kill pro-Khalistan separatist figure Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, US federal prosecutors have named Vikash Yadav as the intelligence official and charged him with “murder-for-hire and money laundering.”
US prosecutors in New York announced the “filing of murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Indian government employee VIKASH Yadav, a/k/a “Vikas,” a/k/a “Amanat,” in connection with his role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City”, said a statement from the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
It said that the charges are contained in a second superseding indictment in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, was previously charged and extradited to the United States.
According to a US indictment, which has not been made public yet, investigators have claimed to have uncovered direct links between the accused in the Pannun case and Nijjar’s murder. The indictment allegedly mentions that hours after Nijjar was gunned down in his car on June 18 outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, ‘CC1’ (Vikash Yadav) shared a real-time video showing the Khalistani terrorist’s body with Nikhil Gupta. However, it is not known who shot and sent the video to Yadav. The US said Yadav was a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer and used “Amanat” as an alias when communicating with his co-conspirator to facilitate the murder plot. Releasing his pictures, the FBI said his place of birth was Pranpura in Haryana, India Today reported.
Giving details of Yadav’s background, the indictment alleged, “Yadav is a citizen and resident of India… Yadav was employed by the government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which is a part of the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.” It added: “R&AW is an arm of the Cabinet Secretariat. Yadav has described his position as senior field officer with responsibilities in security, management and intelligence, and has listed his employer’s address as the CGO complex in New Delhi, which is where RAW is headquartered.”
“Yadav has also served in the Central Reserve Police Force, India’s largest paramilitary force. Yadav has described his position there as an Assistant Commandant with command of a 135-man company. Yadav has reported receiving counter intelligence, battlecraft, weapons and paratrooper training,” the indictment alleged. Yadav is a citizen and resident of India, and he directed the plot to assassinate the Victim from India,” the statement alleged.
Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Yadav, named in the US Justice Department’s indictment regarding the assassination plot, is no longer an employee of the Indian government. “The US State Department informed us that the individual in the Justice Department indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a wanted poster for Vikash Yadav in connection with his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun, a US citizen. FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed that the defendant, an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate an American citizen on US soil for exercising their First Amendment rights. Wray further said, “The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the U.S. for exercising their constitutionally protected rights. We are committed to working with our partners to detect, disrupt, and hold accountable foreign nationals or others who seek to engage in such acts of transnational repression.”
