US charges Indian official in foiled New York assassination attempt

The US has announced charges against an Indian government employee linked to a failed assassination plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen and a Sikh separatist who is residing in New York.

The Justice Department said on Thursday the charges against Vikash Yadav, a former officer in India's Research and Analysis Wing spy service, are contained in a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed on October 17 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"We charge that Yadav, an employee of the Indian government, used his position of authority and access to confidential information to direct the attempted assassination of an outspoken critic of the Indian government here on US soil," the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said.

"The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the US for exercising their constitutionally protected rights," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

The indictment alleged that beginning in May 2023, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked together with others in India and abroad to direct a plot against Pannun. It described Pannun as a political activist, a critic of the Indian government and an advocate for a separate homeland for Sikhs.

The indictment also said that Nikhil Gupta, Yadav's alleged co-conspirator, was previously charged and extradited to the United States on the charges contained in the First Superseding Indictment.

US-India talks

An Indian government committee investigating Indian involvement in the foiled murder plot met with US officials in Washington on Tuesday, a meeting that Washington described as productive.

Without giving further details, the US State Department said on Wednesday that India informed the US that "the individual who was named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government."

The United States had been pushing India to look into the US Justice Department's claim that an Indian intelligence official — now identified as Yadav — directed plans to assassinate Pannun.

Canada on Monday expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats and denied Canada's allegations.

The US Justice Department says Nijjar and Pannun were associates, and said that Gupta, who was allegedly hired by Yadav, felt that after Nijjar's killing in Canada, there was "now no need to wait" on killing Pannun.

The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa's relations with India, often viewed by the West as a counterbalance to China.