The United States has charged Vikash Yadav, a former officer of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in connection with a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist leader based in New York City. According to the indictment unsealed on Thursday, Yadav is accused of orchestrating the failed murder-for-hire scheme against Pannun, a prominent figure in the Khalistan movement, which seeks an independent Sikh state. Yadav remains at large.
The plot surfaced last year when federal prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta, who was allegedly hired by an Indian government official to facilitate Pannun’s assassination. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that the FBI would not allow acts of violence or retaliation against individuals in the U.S. exercising their constitutional rights.
This development comes amid heightened tensions between India and both Canada and the U.S. regarding allegations of state-sponsored violence against Sikh separatists abroad. Earlier this week, Indian and U.S. officials met in Washington to address the assassination attempt, a meeting described as “productive” by U.S. representatives. The indictment’s unsealing follows Canada’s recent expulsion of six Indian diplomats, accusing them of involvement in the 2023 murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which India has denied.
These incidents have significantly strained India’s relationships with Canada and the U.S., two countries that consider India a key partner in countering China’s influence. India, meanwhile, continues to classify the Khalistan movement as a terrorist organization, recalling the insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s that resulted in thousands of deaths.
