The U.S. government has charged a former Senior Field Officer of RAW, Vikash Yadav, in an alleged murder-for-hire plot against Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun residing in New York City. The US prosecutors claimed that a youth from Rewari, Haryana, is involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who is a terrorist associated with Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) residing in New York.
Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a ‘Most Wanted’ poster for Vikas Yadav, this poster includes three photos of him, one of which shows him in a military uniform.
FBI director Christopher Wray 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.”
Who is Vikash Yadav?
Vikas Yadav is a 39-years-old, resident of Pranpura village in Rewari district. He has worked for India’s intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He has allegedly orchestrated the plot to assassinate Pannun. Yadav is accused of conspiring to hire a person for the murder and is also facing charges of money laundering.
According to the court paper, Vikash has described himself as a ‘Senior Field Officer’ with responsibilities in ‘Security Management’ and ‘Intelligence’ and has served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), ‘India’s largest paramilitary force’ with 135 men under his command. He has received paratrooper, battle craft, and counterintelligence training.
Yadav is said to have provided the co-conspirator with the victim’s residential address, phone number, and other identifying information. Yadav and his associate arranged for 15,000 dollars in cash to deliver in New York as an advance payment for the murder.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Yadav on 10th October 2024, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging him with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and attempted money laundering.
Judge Victor Marrero, who is presiding over the case against Yadav, has set a status conference on Friday when the prosecutors and the defence lawyer are to discuss handling the evidence and proceeding with the case.