The United States has charged Vikash Yadav, a former officer of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in connection with an attempted plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York City last year.
The indictment, unsealed on Thursday, reveals that Yadav is accused of directing the failed murder-for-hire scheme targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen and prominent leader of the Khalistan movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh state. Yadav remains at large.
The plot first came to light last year when federal prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta, who was allegedly recruited by an Indian government employee to arrange Pannun's assassination. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that the agency would not tolerate acts of violence or retaliation against individuals in the US for exercising their constitutionally protected rights.
Earlier this week, a committee of Indian officials met with US counterparts in Washington to discuss India's involvement in the foiled plot, a meeting described as "productive" by US officials. Washington has been pressing India to investigate the US Department of Justice's claims about the assassination attempt.
The unsealing of the indictment follows heightened tensions between India and Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader, on Canadian soil. India has denied these allegations and responded by expelling Canadian diplomats.
Trudeau has accused India of violating Canadian sovereignty through acts of violence against Sikh activists, including drive-by shootings, home invasions, extortion, and murder. These accusations have strained India's relations with both Canada and the United States, countries that see India as a key strategic partner in counterbalancing China.
India has long classified Sikh separatists, who demand a sovereign Khalistan carved out of India, as terrorists. The Khalistan movement led to a violent insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.
