In a first, the US reveals the identity of CC-1, a key figure in the plot to kill pro-Khalistan separatist Pannun.

For the first time, the US has accused an Indian official, Vikash Yadav, of allegedly attempting to kill pro-Khalistan separatist figure Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. US federal prosecutors have charged Yadav with "murder-for-hire and money laundering."

This announcement comes almost 11 months after the first US indictment revealing the alleged plot. On Friday, US prosecutors in New York revealed the "filing of murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Indian government employee Vikash Yadav, also known as "Vikas" or "Amanat," for his role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City," according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.

The charges are detailed in a second superseding indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Yadav's alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, was previously charged and extradited to the United States.

The FBI has placed Yadav on its wanted list, stating that "a federal arrest warrant was issued for Yadav in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, New York, on October 10, 2024, after he was charged with Murder-For-Hire, Conspiracy to Commit Murder-For-Hire, and Money Laundering Conspiracy."

Vikash Yadav, an Indian national based in India, allegedly directed a plot to assassinate a United States lawyer and political activist of Indian origin on US soil. Yadav, using the alias "Amanat," communicated with his co-conspirator, another Indian national, to facilitate the murder plot. Yadav provided information such as the victim’s residential addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying details to the Indian national to advance the plot. Yadav and his co-conspirator arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash in New York City as an advance payment for the murder.

The FBI released Yadav's pictures and identification details, stating that he was born in Pranpura, Haryana, on December 11, 1984. He is approximately 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighs around 175 pounds (about 79 kgs), and has black hair and brown eyes. The FBI New York office also urged anyone with information on Yadav to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Yadav is currently at large, and the case is pending before US District Judge Victor Marrero.

The indictment alleges that Yadav, a citizen and resident of India, was employed by the Indian government's Cabinet Secretariat, part of the Indian Prime Minister’s Office. The indictment also mentions Yadav's role as a senior field officer with responsibilities in security, management, and intelligence and his employer's address as the CGO complex in New Delhi, where RAW is headquartered.

Yadav has also served in the Central Reserve Police Force, India’s largest paramilitary force, as an Assistant Commandant with command of a 135-man company. The indictment states that Yadav received counterintelligence, battlecraft, weapons, and paratrooper training. The statement alleges that Yadav, a citizen and resident of India, directed the plot to assassinate the victim from India.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson confirmed that the person identified in the US Department of Justice's indictment is "no longer an employee of the government of India."

The official statement of the indictment says, “Yadav, 39, and Gupta, 53, of India, have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.” It adds that the maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

The indictment alleges that last year, Yadav, working together with others, including Gupta, in India, and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City — referred to as the “Victim”. Throughout the indictment, Pannun has not been named and has been identified as the victim.

“The victim is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. The victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the Victim and his separatist organization from India,” it says.

Giving the details about the plot, it alleges, “In or about May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination of the Victim in the United States. Gupta is an Indian national who resided in India and has described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in his communications with Yadav and others. At Yadav’s direction, Gupta contacted an individual whom Gupta believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source working with the DEA (the “CS”), for assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the Victim in New York City. The CS introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was in fact a DEA undercover officer (the “UC”). Yadav subsequently agreed, in dealings brokered by Gupta, to pay the UC $100,000 to murder the Victim. On or about June 9, 2023, Yadav and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash to the UC as an advance payment for the murder. Yadav’s associate then delivered the $15,000 to the UC in Manhattan.”

It further alleges: “In or about June 2023, in furtherance of the assassination plot, Yadav provided Gupta with personal information about the Victim, including the Victim’s home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with the Victim, and details about the Victim’s day-to-day conduct, which Gupta then passed to the UC. Yadav directed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot, which Gupta accomplished by forwarding to Yadav, among other things, surveillance photographs of the Victim. Gupta directed the UC to carry out the murder as soon as possible, but Gupta also specifically instructed the UC not to commit the murder around the time of the Indian Prime Minister’s official state visit to the United States, which was scheduled to begin on or about June 20, 2023.”

The indictment goes on to list, “On or about June 18, 2023, approximately two days before the Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to the United States, masked gunmen murdered Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar was an associate of the Victim, and, like the Victim, was a leader of the Sikh separatist movement and an outspoken critic of the Indian government. On or about June 19, 2023, the day after the Nijjar murder, Gupta told the UC that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets.” Gupta added that, in light of Nijjar’s murder, there was “now no need to wait” on killing the Victim. On or about June 20, 2023, Yadav sent Gupta a news article about the Victim and messaged Gupta, “[i]t’s [a] priority now.”
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York