The United States unsealed an indictment against Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer, accusing him of orchestrating a failed assassination attempt against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-based Sikh separatist leader, in 2023. The charges have strained India-US relations and come amid tensions between India and Canada over similar accusations.
Vikash Yadav, also known as Vikas and by the alias Amanat, is a 39-year-old Indian national who worked for India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He was reportedly a “Senior Field Officer” involved in security and intelligence work. Yadav has also served as an Assistant Commandant in India’s Central Reserve Police Force, the country’s largest paramilitary force.
According to the US indictment, Yadav directed Nikhil Gupta, another Indian national, to orchestrate the assassination of Pannun. The US alleges Yadav provided Gupta with key information on Pannun’s whereabouts, including his address in New York and details about his daily routine.
The plot to kill Pannun was foiled by US law enforcement in November 2023. Gupta, who was recruited by Yadav in May 2023, unknowingly hired an undercover DEA officer as the hitman. Gupta had agreed to pay $100,000 for the job and provided an advance payment of $15,000.
The indictment revealed that Yadav instructed Gupta to ensure the murder did not take place during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June 2023. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and later extradited to the US, where he pleaded not guilty in a New York court.
India has confirmed Yadav was a government employee but distanced itself from the plot, stating that it does not engage in extraterritorial killings. A spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that Yadav is no longer an employee of the Indian government. The Indian government is reportedly conducting its own internal investigation into the allegations.
The case has complicated diplomatic relations between India and the US, which are close partners, especially in their shared opposition to China. The timing of the indictment also overlaps with rising tensions between India and Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation that Indian agents were behind the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader killed in Canada in June 2023. Nijjar was an associate of Pannun and involved in organizing the Khalistan referendum, which seeks to create a separate Sikh state in India’s Punjab region.
In response to the indictment, Pannun released a statement thanking the US government for protecting his life and freedom of expression. He accused Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and RAW chief Samant Goel of ordering Yadav to carry out the assassination. Pannun, a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement, vowed to continue his efforts, announcing plans for a referendum among the Sikh diaspora in New Zealand in November 2024.
The indictment against Yadav comes at a sensitive time as India and Canada are locked in a diplomatic standoff over similar allegations. Trudeau recently claimed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had evidence linking Indian agents to Nijjar’s assassination, prompting both countries to expel each other’s diplomats.
As the US continues to investigate the plot against Pannun, the case has underscored the complex geopolitical tensions between India, the US, and Canada over the issue of Sikh separatism.
