Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted in Shocking Assassination Plot Against Khalistani Leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the U.S.

Yadav extorted café owner

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted Vikash Yadav, who is currently wanted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to kill Khalistani terrorist and US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was previously arrested by the Delhi Police Anti-Terror Wing Special Cell last year for extortion. He spent several months in Tihar Jail before being released on bail.

The extortion investigation revealed that Yadav posed as an undercover agent, pretending to be a government official from the National Investigation Agency (NIA). According to the FIR, he met the victim, Raj Kumar Walia, outside the NIA office before kidnapping and extorting him for money. Police officials learned of Yadav’s status as a “wanted” individual through news articles.

Reports suggest Yadav and Walia were introduced by a mutual friend at a party last year. Walia, who runs a café and lounge in Moti Nagar, was told by Yadav, along with his associate Abdullah, that he was in serious danger, prompting a meeting near the NIA office on December 11.

During this meeting, Abdullah forcibly pushed Walia into a car, where both Yadav and Abdullah physically assaulted him, demanding money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The FIR details that they beat him, administered injections, and struck him on the neck. They also took his bank cheque book from the café, obtained his signature on blank cheques, and later abandoned him near his car while threatening him to stay silent.

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted  After the ordeal, Walia discovered that the accused had stolen Rs 50,000 from his café and erased all CCTV footage. In his police disclosure, Yadav revealed that his father worked for the Border Security Force (BSF) and passed away in 2007. He got married in 2015. The US indictment notes that Yadav, also known as ‘Vikas’ and ‘Amanat,’ is an Indian citizen and resident.

At the time relevant to the indictment, he worked for the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India, which includes India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He described himself as a ‘senior field officer’ responsible for ‘security management’ and ‘intelligence,’ listing his employer’s address as the CGO Complex in New Delhi, the headquarters for RAW.

Additionally, the indictment states that Yadav had previously served in the Central Reserve Police Force, India’s largest paramilitary force, where he held the position of ‘assistant commandant,’ overseeing a 135-member company and receiving training in counterintelligence, battle craft, weapons, and paratrooping.

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted  The statement accompanying the indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against former RAW operative Vikash Yadav, linked to an alleged plot to assassinate pro-Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, suggests that Washington aims to use this case as an example to send a broader message to countries like China and Russia, which have also been accused of conducting transnational operations against dissidents they view as threats.

The statement emphasized that today’s charges exemplify a troubling rise in violent transnational repression targeting diaspora communities in the U.S. It warned governments considering similar criminal actions and the communities at risk that the DOJ is dedicated to disrupting such plots and holding the perpetrators accountable, regardless of their identities or locations.

According to the indictment, in May 2023, Yadav enlisted Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national allegedly involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking, to carry out Pannun’s assassination. Following Yadav’s instructions, Gupta contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate, who was actually a confidential source (CS) working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to help hire a hitman for the job in New York City.

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted  The CS then introduced Gupta to a supposed hitman, who was, in fact, a DEA undercover officer. Yadav agreed to pay the hitman $100,000 to carry out the murder, with $15,000 in cash delivered to the undercover agent as an advance, as shown in a close-up photo included in the indictment.

Furthermore, the indictment noted that Gupta instructed the undercover agent not to execute the murder around the time of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled state visit to the U.S., which was set to begin on June 20, 2023. Yadav had recruited Gupta for this assassination plot in exchange for help in getting a criminal case against Gupta dismissed in India.

Gupta was arrested in Prague earlier this year and has since been extradited to the U.S., where he has pleaded not guilty and is preparing for trial.

India-U.S. tensions over assassination charges

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted  Former Indian ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, reacted to the charges against a former RAW official for allegedly orchestrating a failed assassination plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, suggesting that this move by Washington could be an attempt to pressure India. She stated, “The U.S. is signaling to us that this kind of overreach in covert operations on their soil or that of their allies will not be tolerated. The public trial sought by the U.S. Department of Justice aims to hold India’s feet to the fire on this issue,” during an interview with India Today TV.

Vikash Yadav, identified by the U.S. as a former RAW official, has been charged with murder-for-hire and money laundering, and the FBI has issued a wanted notice for him. The alleged plot began in May 2023 when Yadav, at the time an employee of the Indian government, coordinated with associates both in India and abroad to plan Pannun’s assassination.

Shankar emphasized that New Delhi is concerned about Western countries being insufficiently responsive to extremist activities targeting India from their territories. “We want them to be more aware that these activities undermine a fellow democracy,” she added. While noting that India and the U.S. have been discussing the matter confidentially, she expressed that once the Indian government indicated that Yadav was no longer in service, the U.S. should not have publicized his details.

She also highlighted the complexity of the situation, stating, “All we have are the allegations and charges made by the United States.” Shankar stressed the importance of India working through legal channels in the U.S. and providing specific evidence to back its claims against Khalistani terrorists operating on American soil, explaining that Western agencies often require detailed evidence to act on broad accusations.

Breaking: Former RAW Operative Vikash Yadav Wanted  “Given that Khalistan is a completely dead issue in India, I believe it was unwise to pursue this path,” she added, suggesting that this action might have been taken by someone inexperienced in international affairs.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that the individual named in the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment is no longer connected to the Indian government. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “The U.S. 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.”

In September, a U.S. court also issued a summons to the Indian government regarding a civil lawsuit filed by Pannun, who alleged a conspiracy to murder him. The Indian government deemed the summons as “completely unwarranted.”