Written By Lisa Murimi
The United States has charged Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer, with directing a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American citizen who advocates for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh state in India.Â
Yadav faces “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Thursday.
The indictment implicates the Indian government in the attempted assassination of Pannun, marking the first direct accusation against India.
Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, has been labeled a terrorist by India, though he denies this, identifying himself as a Khalistani activist.
Yadav reportedly recruited Nikhil Gupta, another Indian national, in May 2023 to execute the assassination.
Gupta was extradited from Prague earlier this year. According to the indictment, Yadav provided Gupta with Pannun’s personal details, including his New York City address and phone numbers.
India’s foreign ministry has stated that the person referred to as “CC-1” in the US indictment is no longer employed by the government, but did not explicitly name Yadav.
This indictment comes just days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the killing of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia.
India has rejected both allegations as baseless.
