The United States has accused a former Indian intelligence officer of allegedly orchestrating a failed plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist and Indian critic in New York City. The FBI has issued a warning against any retaliation targeting a U.S. resident. An indictment against Vikash Yadav was unsealed on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department identified Yadav as a former officer of India's Research and Analysis Wing spy service. Washington has alleged that Indian agents were involved in a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship.

"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," FBI director Christopher Wray stated. The indictment claimed that starting in May 2023, Yadav, then an employee of the Indian government, collaborated with others in India and abroad to direct the plot against Pannun, described as a 'political activist, critic of the Indian government, and advocate for a separate homeland for Sikhs.' Yadav, 39, remains in India, and the U.S. is expected to seek his extradition, according to the Washington Post.

The indictment charged Yadav with 'murder-for-hire and money laundering.' It stated that Yadav hired Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who has previously been charged by the U.S. Justice Department for attempting to arrange Pannun's murder at the behest of an Indian intelligence official. Gupta was arrested in Prague last June and extradited to the U.S., where he pleaded not guilty in June.

Pannun welcomed the indictment of Yadav but described him as a "mid-tier soldier" who he alleged could have been tasked with dismantling Sikh separatism. An Indian government committee investigating the foiled murder plot met with U.S. officials in Washington on Tuesday, described as a productive meeting. The U.S. State Department stated that India informed them the individual named in the Justice Department indictment is no longer an employee of the Indian government.

This case is not the only instance of India's alleged targeting of Sikh separatists abroad. Canada expelled Indian diplomats on Monday, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India has denied the allegations and ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats. The U.S. Justice Department claimed that Nijjar and Pannun were associates, and Gupta, allegedly hired by Yadav, felt there was no need to wait after Nijjar's killing to assassinate Pannun. The plot against Pannun was thwarted by U.S. authorities.

These accusations have strained relations between Washington, Ottawa, and New Delhi, with India often seen by the West as a counterbalance to China.

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