U.S. charges former RAW official in murder-for-hire plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

Indian RAW official indicted in plot to kill Sikh separatist American, highlighting international espionage and criminal activity.

An Indian RAW official was involved in a plot to kill a separatist Sikh American national last summer in and around the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal prosecutors alleged on Thursday (October 17, 2024) in a damaging indictment filed in a U.S. court in New York.

The official identified as 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.

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Yadav, who is believed to be no longer a government employee, has been charged with three counts, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He “remains at large”, the Department of Justice said.

His co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta was arrested in Czechoslovakia last year and is languishing in a U.S. 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 U.S. citizen is entitled,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.