US Federal Prosecutors officially named Vikash Yadav, an Indian intelligence officer, as the main figure behind the shocking revelation of an attempted assassination on pro-Khalistan separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun nearly a year after the US indictment. The US side indictment, which came almost more than a year ago, charged an unnamed Indian official, CC-1, with murder for hire over the alleged plotting to kill Pannun. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicted Yadav on murder-for-hire and money laundering charges.
The FBI lists Yadav, noting he remains in India after a federal arrest warrant was issued against him in October 2024. According to the FBI, Yadav staged the plot with an alias while working from India–he has been charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, as well as money laundering.
An announcement by the FBI on Yadav described the man as 39 years of age, of Indian origin, standing in between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 175 pounds, born in Pranpura, Haryana, with black hair and brown eyes. The US authorities urged people having information to contact the FBI.
Before becoming a member of the Prime Minister’s Office, Yadav was reported to have previously worked with the Cabinet Secretariat of the Indian government. This organization is said to harbor India’s external intelligence agency, RAW. The allegations then claim Yadav served in the Central Reserve Police Force of India and had undergone intense trainings in counterintelligence and security.
Nikhil Gupta is the co-conspirator of Yadav, who has already been extradited from India to the US. The indictment mentioned that Yadav provided all the crucial information against the victim, including residential addresses and phone numbers, to make the assassination easy. Today, it falls in the context of continued tensions around pro-Khalistan figures and India’s efforts to suppress the separatist movement abroad
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