By Shivam Patel
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A former Indian government official indicted in the United States this week for allegedly directing a foiled assassination plot was arrested in New Delhi in December in an attempted murder case, according to court records and a police official.
The US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Vikash Yadav, 39, on Thursday, alleging that he led a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in New York.
Starting in May 2023, the US indictment alleges, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked with others in India and abroad to direct the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who had dual US-Canadian citizenship.
Delhi Police had arrested Yadav on December 18 in the Indian capital, a police officer who did not want to be named told Reuters. Yadav and his associates were charged with attempt to murder and other crimes, according to a filing in the Delhi district court.
Yadav’s lawyer, RK Handoo, called India’s allegations “false”, and added there was an “international plot to embarrass the Indian government and my client”.
Handoo declined to comment further.
He and police did not respond to questions about Yadav’s whereabouts. The Washington Post, citing American officials, reported on Thursday that Yadav was still in India and the US was expected to seek his extradition.
Yadav’s arrest was based on a complaint by an Indian businessman, who accused Yadav and his associates of kidnapping him in December, assaulting and robbing him, according to details in a Delhi district court order dated February 23.
“The accused tortured and abused the complainant and demanded money in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi,” said the February 23 court order, summarizing the complaint.
Bishnoi, who was jailed in the Indian state of Gujarat, was the leader of an organized crime gang, according to India’s National Investigation Agency. Bishnoi’s lawyers say he faces more than 40 cases on charges including murder and extortion, and many trials have not yet begun.
Indian government agents were separately accused by Canada this week of having ties to the Bishnoi gang and running a campaign to target Indian dissidents in Canada. The Indian government denies the allegations.
In the Yadav case in Delhi, the court order citing the complaint said: “The accused also took the bank checkbook from the complainant’s cafe and got her signature on the blank check and then dropped it near her car, threatening to keep quiet.”
