Vikas Yadav, a former Indian government employee on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s wanted list, was arrested ten months ago by the Delhi Police on charges of attempted murder and kidnapping.

The former officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) has been charged by US prosecutors for his alleged role in directing a failed plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday confirmed that the individual named in the US Justice Department’s indictment was “no longer an employee of the government of India”.

Vikas Yadav, also known as Vikash Yadav, was arrested by the special cell of Delhi Police in December last year after a complaint by a businessman from Rohini in north west Delhi and a chargesheet was filed in March this year. Yadav got bail a month later in April.

The businessman – who is said to have many contacts in west Asia – told police that his acquaintance had introduced him to Vikas Yadav in November 2023 and told him that he was a senior government officer. They soon shared mobile numbers to stay in touch.

According to the complaint, Yadav often asked him about his work and friends. The former government employee had also told him that he worked as an undercover agent. But, he never shared any information about his work and office, the businessman told the police.

On December 11, Yadav called him and said that he wanted to discuss some issue and asked him to come to Lodhi Road, as per the complaint. There was another man with Yadav when he reached the location. The businessman claimed that they forcibly kidnapped him and took him to a flat in Defence Colony, where Yadav told him that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi had given him a contract to kill him.

Yadav’s associate then hit him on the head and took away his gold chain and rings, he alleged, adding they went to his cafe and took whatever cash was there. According to the complainant, they left him on the side of a road and threatened him with a dire outcome if he complained to anyone.

The businessman soon went to the police and a First Information Report or FIR was filed in the case under the sections of attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping. Yadav and his associate were arrested on December 18.

During interrogation, the associate told the police that he joined the conspiracy with Vikas Yadav as he had suffered losses in his business of old vehicles. He said that Yadav told him that his father was in the Border Security Force.

Vikas Yadav said that he planned the whole crime the day he met the businessman. Delhi Police filed a case in March, and Vikas got bail in April. Although Vikas got interim bail on March 22, but then he got regular bail in April.

US’ Charges Against Vikas Yadav

Vikas Yadav faces three charges: conspiracy to hire a hitman, the actual “murder-for-hire” plot, and money laundering. The charges against him and his alleged co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta, were unsealed in the Federal Southern District of New York Court on Thursday.

According to the indictment, Yadav was the alleged mastermind who recruited Gupta to carry out the plot in exchange for helping him get criminal cases against him dismissed. Nikhil Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and was extradited to the US in June.

Many of the details in the document repeat the same narratives made in earlier documents filed against Gupta, but this time, Yadav is identified by name.

“Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination of the Victim in the United States and that under Yadav’s directions, Gupta contacted a government “confidential source” who he thought was “a criminal associate,” it said.

As per the document, the alleged plot began around May 6 last year with Yadav sending Gupta a message on an encrypted app, “This is Vikas … save my name as Aman”.

In June 2023, they hired a “hitman” and agreed on a payment of $100,000 to allegedly kill the “victim”, the court document which did not name Pannun said. Yadav and Gupta arranged through an “associate of Yadav” to give $15,000 as advance.

The plot, however, unravelled as the “hitman” they hired was an undercover US law enforcement officer, according to the 18-page court document, which also included a photograph of Yadav dressed in military fatigues.

The charges were filed a day after an Indian Enquiry Committee set up to investigate the allegations visited Washington to discuss the case with US officials.

In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta of working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Pannun in New York.

A drone was launched towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the Israeli town of Caesarea on Saturday, hours after Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was killed.

Mr Netanyahu’s spokesperson said he was not in the vicinity and there were no casualties in the attack on his residence.