The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a “wanted” notice for a former RAW official for his alleged role in a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York last year, warning that attempts to “target” and “silence” Americans won’t be tolerated.

The FBI put out the “wanted” notice for Vikash Yadav on Thursday after the justice department announced murder-for-hire and money-laundering charges against him. The indictment was unsealed in the US District Court for the Southern District of
New York.

Another Indian, Nikhil Gupta, is already in custody in the case, having been arrested by Czech authorities last year and extradited to the US.

A media release issued by the office of public safety of the department of justice (DoJ) said: “Yadav was employed by the Government of India’s cabinet secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing. Yadav has described his position as a senior field officer with responsibilities in ‘security management’ and ‘intelligence’. Yadav also has referenced previously serving in India’s Central Reserve Police Force and receiving ‘officer training’ in ‘battle craft’ and ‘weapons’. Yadav is a citizen and resident of India, and he directed the plot to assassinate the victim from India.”

Earlier in the day, external affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said at a briefing that the government employee cited in the DoJ’s first indictment in the case last year was no longer employed with the government.

This had been communicated to the US by the inquiry committee set up by the government last year soon after the DoJ’s first indictment. The inquiry committee visited the US this week to discuss the case with the Americans.

There was no official response from India on Friday after the FBI declared Yadav a “wanted” man. Several requests to the external affairs ministry for a response to the indictment remained unanswered throughout the day. Neither was there a reply to queries whether the US had sought his extradition.

Yadav had allegedly orchestrated the plot from India and directed Gupta to hire a hitman to murder Pannun. “At Yadav’s direction, Gupta contacted an individual whom Gupta believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source (the CS) working with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), for assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the victim in New York City," the DoJ media release said.

"The CS introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was in fact a DEA undercover officer (the UC). Yadav subsequently agreed, in dealings brokered by Gupta, to pay the UC $100,000 to murder the victim. On or about June 9, 2023, Yadav and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash to the UC as an advance payment for the murder. Yadav’s associate then delivered the $15,000 to the UC in Manhattan."

In a statement, US attorney-general Merrick B. Garland said: “The justice department will be relentless in holding accountable any person — regardless of their position or proximity to power — who seeks to harm and silence American citizens…. Today’s charges demonstrate that the justice department will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled.”

US attorney Damian Williams added: “The right to exercise free speech is foundational to our democracy, and predicated on the notion that we can do so without fear of violence or reprisal, including from beyond our borders. Let this case be a warning to all those who would seek to harm and silence US citizens: we will hold you accountable, no matter who and where you are.”

The DoJ indictment indicates a link with the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder in Canada, which has soured India’s relations with Ottawa. According to the indictment, after Nijjar’s murder, “Gupta told the UC that Nijjar ‘was also the target’ and ‘we have so many targets’”.