FBI issues lookout notice against former Indian cop for bid to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

The US Department of Justice has filed charges against a former Indian police official, accusing him of trying to kill pro-Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in June last year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also issued a lookout notice with photos of the former official, Vikash Yadav, alias Vikas.

The lookout notice, though procedural, has come as a surprise for officials in the security circles here. A senior official not wanting to be quoted said, “The India-US ties being so good, a lookout notice against a former Indian police official could have been avoided by the US.”

• Editorial: Yadav’s removal

The US Department of Justice, in a statement on Thursday night, said the charges were against an Indian Government employee, Vikash Yadav (39), alias Vikas, alias Amanat, in connection with “his role in directing a foiled plot” to assassinate a US citizen. The reference was to Pannun, who heads the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.

US media, citing documents of the Department of Justice, had earlier identified the official as “Vikram Yadav”. The Ministry of External Affairs had yesterday said the “person facing an indictment is no longer an employee of the Government of India”.

An 18-page indictment has been uploaded on the website of the US Department of Justice. Under US laws, an indictment is not an assumption of being guilty.

The US said Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta (53), was previously charged and extradited to the US from the Czech Republic on charges contained in the first indictment. Yadav remained at large, it said.

The accusation is that in or around May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to “orchestrate” the assassination of Pannun in the US. Yadav used Amanat as an alias. He directed the assassination plot from India, says the US indictment.

In the US, Gupta contacted an individual whom he believed to be a criminal associate, but in reality was a confidential source (named as CS in the indictment) working with US law enforcement. Gupta sought to hire a hitman to murder Pannun.

CS introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was in fact an undercover US law enforcement officer (named as UC in the indictment).

“Yadav subsequently agreed, in dealings brokered by Gupta, to pay UC $1,00,000 to murder the victim (Pannun),” the indictment said.

Yadav and Gupta have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The US Department of Justice quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying, “The defendant, an Indian Government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil”.

Yadav was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing. He is originally from the Central Reserve Police Force.

Hire-to-kill charge against Yadav, Gupta

• Vikash Yadav and his alleged co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta charged with murder-for-hire
• The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
• Also face conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
• Duo also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum 20-year jail term