The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released a wanted poster for former Indian government employee, Vikash Yadav, in connection with his alleged role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is a US citizen.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday confirmed that the individual named in the US Justice Department's indictment case in a foiled assassination plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was no longer an employee of the government of India.
"The US State Department informed us that the individual in the Justice Department indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference.
Born in 1984 in Haryana, Yadav is an Indian national based in India and used "Amanat" as an alias when communicating with his co-conspirator, another Indian national, to facilitate the murder plot, according to the information mentioned on the wanted poster released by FBI.
In a statement, the US Justice Department said, "Yadav is charged in a second superseding indictment unsealed today in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Yadav's alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, 53, was previously charged and extradited to the United States on the charges contained in the first superseding indictment. Yadav remains at large."
FBI Director Christopher Wray has claimed that the defendant, an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate an American citizen on US soil for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Wray further said, "The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the U.S. for exercising their constitutionally protected rights. We are committed to working with our partners to detect, disrupt, and hold accountable foreign nationals or others who seek to engage in such acts of transnational repression."
Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has stated that the DEA foiled the assassination attempt in 2023 and "has continued to trace this case back to an employee of the Indian government whom we charge was an orchestrator of this intricate murder-for-hire scheme. DEA did not relent, and today's indictment names Vikash Yadav as an alleged mastermind."
She further said, "We charge that 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."
She noted that the case was led by the DEA New York Division's Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of the DEA, the New York State Police, and the New York City Police Department.
According to US Attorney Damian Williams, this office last year charged Nikhil Gupta for conspiring to assassinate an American citizen of Indian origin on US soil.
"But, as alleged, Gupta did not work alone. Today, we announce charges against an Indian government employee, Vikash Yadav, who orchestrated the plot from India and directed Gupta to hire a hitman to murder the victim. The right to exercise free speech is foundational to our democracy, and predicated on the notion that we can do so without fear of violence or reprisal, including from beyond our borders," Williams further said.
As alleged in the second superseding indictment and other public court documents, in 2023, Yadav, working together with others, including Gupta, in India, and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate "an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City (the victim) on American soil."
US Justice Department said, "During times relevant to the second superseding indictment, Yadav was employed by the Government of India's Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing. Yadav has described his position as a 'senior field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence'."
In or about May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination of a US citizen. Gupta is an Indian national who resided in India and has described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in his communications with Yadav and others.
After receiving instruction from Yadav, Gupta contacted an individual whom Gupta "believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source (the CS) working with the DEA, for assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the victim in New York City."
The US Justice Department said, "The CS introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was in fact a DEA undercover officer (the UC). Yadav subsequently agreed, in dealings brokered by Gupta, to pay the UC USD 100,000 to murder the victim. On or about June 9, 2023, Yadav and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver USD 15,000 in cash to the UC as an advance payment for the murder. Yadav's associate then delivered the USD 15,000 to the UC in Manhattan."
In or about June 2023, in furtherance of the assassination plot, Yadav provided Gupta with personal information about the victim, including the victim's home address in New York City, phone numbers related to the victim, and details regarding the victim's day-to-day conduct, which Gupta then passed to the UC.
Yadav directed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot, which Gupta accomplished by forwarding to Yadav, among other things, surveillance photographs of the victim, according to the statement.
On or about June 18, 2023, masked gunmen shot Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Gurdwara in Canada's British Columbia.
The US Justice Department said, "On or about June 19, 2023, the day after the Nijjar murder, Gupta told the UC that Nijjar "was also the target" and 'we have so many targets." Gupta added that, in light of Nijjar's murder, there was "now no need to wait" on killing the victim. On or about June 20, 2023, Yadav sent Gupta a news article about the victim and messaged Gupta, "[i]t's [a] priority now'."
According to the statement, Yadav and Gupta of India have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The US Justice Department noted, "An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
Earlier in June, Gupta was extradited from the Czech Republic to the US to stand trial, where he pleaded 'not guilty.'
India in November last year formed a high-level inquiry committee to address the security concerns highlighted by the US government.
The MEA said that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue.
(ANI)