The Justice Department announced on Thursday that an Indian intelligence official has been charged with participating in a foiled attempt to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the United States.
According to the department, Vikash Yadav, 39, who is still at large, faces charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
Yadav is the second Indian national to be indicted in the United States for the alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York resident who is both a US and Canadian citizen. Pannun is a US and Canadian citizen.
After being extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States, 53-year-old Nikhil Gupta pleaded not guilty to involvement in the assassination plot in June.
Sikhs for Justice, based in New York, is a group that supports the secession of Punjab, a northern Indian state with a large Sikh population. Pannun is a member of this group.
In a statement on X, Pannun called the alleged assassination plot a “threat to freedom of speech and democracy” and a “blatant case of India’s transnational terrorism.”
The Justice Department claimed that Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to hire a hitman to carry out the murder and that he directed the plot.
In order to hire a hitman, Gupta allegedly contacted someone he believed to be a criminal associate. In fact, the individual was a private source for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Anne Milgram, the head of the DEA, said in a statement, “Yadav, an employee of the Indian government, used his position of authority and access to confidential information to direct the attempted assassination of an outspoken critic of the Indian government here on US soil.”
“Will be relentless in holding accountable any person — regardless of their position or proximity to power — who seeks to harm and silence American citizens,” according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Expelled Ambassadors According to the Justice Department, Yadav worked for the Cabinet Secretariat of the Indian government, which houses the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country’s foreign intelligence service.
India informed the United States on Wednesday that an intelligence agent who was accused of directing an assassination plot on US soil was no longer employed by the government.
Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, stated, “They did inform us that the individual who was named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government.” The cooperation has met our expectations.
New Delhi’s response stood in stark contrast to Canada’s defiant response to similar charges made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, when India was accused of violating his nation’s sovereignty.
Separately, Canada claims that India orchestrated a plot on its soil that resulted in the murder of a naturalized Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist outside a Vancouver temple last year.
Canada, in contrast to the United States, has voiced its concerns publicly and at the highest levels, and Trudeau has criticized India’s actions.
India and Canada both expelled their ambassadors on Monday after Ottawa claimed that the Indian campaign went further than previously thought.
India has denied Canada’s allegations and claimed that Trudeau was motivated by domestic politics.
