 "A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) handout image shows Vikash Yadav who has been charged by the US for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Reuters")
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has revealed the name of Vikash Yadav, a former Indian government employee, as “CC-1” (co-conspirator) allegedly involved in a plot to kill pro-Khalistan separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Now, reports have come to light that Yadav was arrested by the Delhi Police last year.
This comes at a time when the US Justice Department has announced criminal charges against Yadav and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put him on the wanted list. As the buzz around the ex-Indian government employee rises, we take a look at why Vikash Yadav was arrested in Delhi and what he has been accused of by the US.
Extortion case against Vikash Yadav
Vikash Yadav was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell last December in an extortion case. He was apprehended in this separate case just a few weeks after the US Justice Department accused him of being a part of a conspiracy to kill Pannun , as per an Indian Express report.
He spent four months in Delhi’s Tihar Jail and was released in April this year.
The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Yadav on the basis of a complaint filed by a Rohini resident.
According to the first information report (FIR), Yadav posed as a government official employed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), reported News18.
The Delhi resident said in his complaint that he used to run an IT company and had contacts with many Indians in West Asia. “In November last year, one of my friends introduced me to Yadav as a senior government official and we exchanged numbers. We became good friends, but never spoke about business since he was a government official. However, he had always shown curiosity about my friends, who are based abroad, and also enquired about how I do money transactions with them,” he alleged, as per Indian Express.
The complainant claimed Yadav told him he was “some kind of undercover agent” carrying out a sensitive operation. “On December 11, he called and informed me there was something serious that he wanted to discuss and it is related to my life. We decided to meet at… Lodhi Road,” the newspaper reported citing the complaint.
As per the News18 report, Yadav, who was with his “associate” identified as Abdullah, asked him to meet outside the NIA office, claiming a serious threat to the Rohini resident.
The complaint reportedly alleges that Yadav, who came in a vehicle along with an accomplice, forcibly took the Rohini resident to a flat near Defence Colony.
“The complainant, along with his friend Abhijit, went to meet Vikash Yadav, who was present with the accused Abdullah. Thereafter, the accused Abdullah pushed him into the car. The accused persons tortured and manhandled the complainant and demanded money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi,” the FIR states, according to News18.
It mentioned that Yadav told the Rohini resident there was a “supari” (contract) to murder him, given by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi at the behest of a Dubai-based person.
The complainant alleged he was “hit on my head” by Yadav’s accomplice and forced to give his gold chain and some rings, as per Indian Express.
“The accused persons beat him, administered injections, and hit him on the back of his neck. They also took a bank chequebook from the complainant’s café and obtained his signature on blank cheques, later dropping him near his car while threatening him to remain silent,” News18 cited the FIR.
The complainant claimed that the accused also stole cash from his cafe in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar and deleted all CCTV recordings.
When Vikash Yadav was arrested
As per the Indian Express report, the police nabbed Yadav and his accomplice on December 18 last year. They were booked under IPC Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 364A (abduction), 506 (threatening), 341 (wrongful confinement), 328 (poisoning) and Section 25/27 of the Arms Act, the chargesheet filed before a Delhi court on March 13 showed.
In his disclosure, Yadav told the police his father worked with the Border Security Force (BSF) and passed away in 2007. Yadav got married in 2015.
“He met (the complainant) at a social gathering and decided to make money after kidnapping him. His associate, who works as a car dealer, told the police that he was facing financial losses in his business and decided to join his (Yadav’s) plan,” a senior police official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Yadav secured interim bail on March 22 and later walked out of Tihar jail on regular bail in April.
US’ charges against Vikash Yadav
The US Justice Department Thursday (October 17) charged Yadav with “murder-for-hire” and money laundering in the alleged plot to kill Pannun.
The indictment unsealed this week accused Yadav of hiring Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, “to orchestrate the assassination of the victim in the United States”, reported Reuters.
As per Associated Press (AP), authorities allege Yadav ordered the foiled plot from India when he was employed by the Indian government’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses the spy agency – Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
According to the Justice Department, Yadav said his position was of a “senior field officer” with responsibilities in “security management and intelligence”.
The indictment claims he recruited Gupta last May to arrange the “assassination”.
On Yadav being named as an “Indian government employee” by the Justice Department, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday that he was “not part of the government of India set-up”, reported Indian Express.
The accused has been put on the FBI’s wanted list.
“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 criminal case against Yadav came the same week as two members of an Indian inquiry committee probing the alleged plot met US officials about the investigation in Washington.
“They did inform us that the individual who was named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government. We are satisfied with cooperation. It continues to be an ongoing process,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters before the indictment against Yadav was unsealed.
With inputs from agencies