“US charges former Indian intelligence officer Vikas Yadav for plotting to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. The case raises complex diplomatic and legal challenges for India-US relations.”

The United States has indicted Indian intelligence officer Vikas Yadav for an allegedly attempted assassination of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City. Yadav, a former RAW operative, is accused of orchestrating the attempted assassination of Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and influential advocate for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state.

Plot Details

The US government claims that the conspiracy started on May 2023 when Vikas Yadav, according to the US authorities who called him an Indian government employee then, hatched a conspiracy with those in India and abroad targeting Pannun. Among the accusations against Yadav is murder-for-hire and money laundering. US Justice Department said Yadav hired Nikhil Gupta of India for the assassination. He was arrested in June 2023 in Prague and then extradited to the US, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is the man India wants dead for being a terrorist, for his advocacy of Khalistan, and for affiliations with separatist operations. The indictment tells the story of how Gupta seemed to be in a hurry to go ahead with the killing of Pannun after another Khalistani leader was killed in Canada earlier this year.

Recruitment and Undercover Operations

Yadav and Gupta are said to have hired a “hit man” for $100,000 to assassinate the Prime Minister. They did not know the hit man was an FBI informant operating undercover. The informamt has received an advance payment of $15,000 from Yadav and Gupta in June 2023 well before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States. The supposed transaction apparently occurred inside a car in New York, of which the exchange is included in the indictment. The US agencies also believe that the murder was not pursued immediately right after Modi’s visit, for it might cause a diplomatic fiasco in the event.

The indictment also contains communications between Yadav and Gupta, the latter of which asks Yadav to give clear instructions regarding whether Pannun was inside the United States before they would go ahead with the plan in the conspiracy. “Let them also verify by their own. if they are able to get some proof that he is inside. it will be a go ahead from us,” Yadav allegedly messaged Gupta.

Diplomatic Implications

To the extent the indictment alleges a plot to assassinate a US resident, there may be diplomatic fallout. The US State Department has already confirmed some talks between Indian officials and the FBI, Department of Justice, and the State Department. Both countries emphasized continued cooperation on the issue. However, the Indian government’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that Vikas Yadav was no longer an employee of their organization, thereby attempting to distance themselves from the alleged conspiracy.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said they are okay with the level of cooperation that came from the Indian authorities. “We are satisfied with the cooperation,” Miller said. “It continues to be an ongoing process. We continue to work with them on that, but we do appreciate the cooperation, and we appreciate them updating us on their investigation as we update them on ours.”

Civil Suit and Subsequent Court Procedure

By 2023 September, a US court summoned the Indian government in a civil suit, filed by Pannun, alleging that the government was part of a conspiracy to kill him. The summons were served on the Government of India, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former RAW chief Samant Goel, besides Yadav and Gupta for a response in 21 days. The Indian government termed the summons as “completely unwarranted,” which further complicated the diplomatic landscape between the two nations.

The case adds another stratum to the legal proceedings underway, and this might affect broader diplomatic relations between India and the US. Indian officials, among them Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, said a high-level committee is at work on the matter and urged action was taken when they were first approached with the allegations.

RAW and Its Involvement in the Case

Subsequent charges involving the former officer of India’s RAW, Vikas Yadav, pointed to the involvement of the intelligence agencies in carrying out operations based abroad. As a peripheral constituent of the Indian intelligence network, Research and Analysis Wing is India’s external intelligence agency commissioned with national security operations, especially those aimed at counter-terrorism and threats to Indian interests.

Charges against Yadav and his purported activity with RAW only expose the Indian intelligence apparatus, but incidentally bring this topic of state-orchestrated murder into a spotlight of discussion. This comes after another move by the US Justice Department that may be exemplifying its stance on safeguarding those residing in the United States against alien threats, according to an official statement released by FBI Director Christopher Wray, “The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the U.S. for exercising their constitutionally protected rights.

The case explicitly articulates the delicate balance within the India-US relations, especially concerning issues of terrorism and state action. While the US goes to great lengths to respect Indian security interests, in particular, in relation to separatist movements like Khalistan, the US by no means is willing to grossly violate the rights and security of its citizens within its territory.

The extradition of Vikas Yadav will probably come in the courts, but how India responds is yet to be seen. And so, the diplomatic spats will continue unabated as both nations will look to contain the situation without letting it get out of hand enough to jeopardize bilateral relations.

Vikas Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer, is to appear in the United States courts over the plot of killing Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The case is set to be a complicated affair between the two countries. As this case runs its course, more implications will emerge relating to how India’s intelligence operations will be affected and how these are likely to change as far as its diplomatic ties with America are concerned. This case reminds us of the far-flung effects of secret operations, particularly when they are entangled with international law and private rights abroad.