US charges Indian in 'plot' to kill Pannun

Vikas Yadav faces murder-for-hire and money laundering charges, say US prosecutors

PTI Washington/New York: 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. Vikas Yadav, 39, was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the federal prosecutors claimed on Thursday in an indictment filed in a US court in New York. Yadav faces murder-for-hire and money laundering charges in connection with his role in directing a foiled plot to kill Pannun. He “remains at large”, the Department of Justice said. Yadav had been identified only as “CC-1” (co-conspirator) in the first indictment. 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”. His co-conspirator 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 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 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 here 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. We continue to work with them on that, but we do appreciate the cooperation, and we appreciate them updating us on their investigation,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.