Vikas Yadav, a former Indian government official reportedly linked to India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has been charged by U.S. authorities for his alleged role in a failed plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted Yadav on charges of murder-for-hire and money laundering. While Indian media and the government claim Yadav is at large, some speculate he may be receiving protection from Indian intelligence agencies to evade FBI arrest.
Yadav’s past actions have also come under scrutiny in India. In December 2023, Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested Yadav in an unrelated case involving the kidnapping and extortion of a businessman in Rohini. According to police sources, Yadav, 39, had allegedly demanded money in the name of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. He was granted bail in April 2024, raising suspicions due to the speed at which the court granted him regular bail. Critics suggest this points to his possible involvement in covert operations directed by RAW, with a criminal network used as cover to protect his identity and shield RAW from fallout.
Notably, the interim bail order referred to Yadav as “an ex-government employee having clean antecedents,” despite his arrest in the kidnapping case. However, on Thursday, U.S. federal prosecutors revealed in a court indictment that Yadav was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses RAW, at the time of the alleged assassination plot.
As the case unfolds, concerns are growing about Yadav’s potential ties to India’s intelligence agencies and whether they are shielding him from facing justice in the U.S.
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