Former Indian government employee Vikash Yadav has been indicted in the U.S. on charges of directing the assassination attempt of a Sikh separatist leader in New York City. The Justice Department charged Yadav with three counts of murder-for-hire and money laundering, alleging that he orchestrated the plot from India. He hired Nikhil Gupta, another Indian national, who was arrested last year in connection with the plot. Yadav remains at large, and the FBI has released a wanted poster for him.
The indictment comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, with Canada accusing India of using its diplomats to plot the murder of another Sikh activist in June 2023. India has denied these allegations and expelled Canada’s top diplomats in response.
Yadav, who had worked for India’s Cabinet secretariat, used the alias “Amanat” to direct the assassination plot. He agreed to pay $100,000 to a hitman, who turned out to be an undercover DEA officer. Prosecutors also allege that Yadav instructed the undercover officer not to carry out the killing around the time of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington last year.
The Justice Department views these charges as a grave example of violent transnational repression targeting diaspora communities in the U.S. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division highlighted the increase in lethal plotting in the country.
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