The US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment on Thursday against a former Indian intelligence officer who is accused of planning a failed assassination attempt against a Sikh-American activist in New York City known for his vocal criticism of the Indian government. The charges allege that Vikash Yadav orchestrated a plan to murder dual US-Canadian citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent figure in the Sikh separatist movement. At the time of the plot, prosecutors claim Yadav was working within India’s top foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.
Yadav and Gupta face charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. They also face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Justice Department officials stated that they “will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled” and will hold “wrongful actors accountable no matter who they are or where they reside”.
India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated at a press briefing that Yaduv is “no longer employed by India”.
The indictment alleges that in May 2023 Yadav recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national with a background in drug and weapons trafficking, to assist in carrying out the plot. Yadav, through Gupta, allegedly agreed to pay an undercover police officer $100,000 to carry out the murder. The indictment claims that Yadav provided personal details about Pannun, including his home address, daily routines and surveillance photos. Gupta allegedly instructed the hitman to avoid carrying out the assassination during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to the U.S. in June 2023.
On June 18, 2023, just two days before the visit, masked gunmen killed Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an associate of the activist and fellow Sikh separatist leader, outside a Sikh temple in Canada. Following Nijjar’s murder, Gupta allegedly informed the undercover officer that Nijjar had also been a target and emphasized that the assassination of the activist should proceed without delay.
