The FBI has declared former Indian intelligence officer, Vikram Yadav, “wanted” for his involvement in a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, one of the prime Sikh separatist leaders operating from the United States. Pannun supports creation of Khalistan and has been viewed as a controversial figure by the Indian government, which labels him a terrorist. He is also a spokesperson of Sikhs for Justice, a group campaigning for a separate state for Sikhs.
The murder-for-hire plot, as per investigative reports, had been disrupted by U.S. intelligence agencies before it could happen, but the alleged operation has involved Yadav, associated hitherto with India’s Research and Analysis Wing. He hired middlemen for the purported assassination. It has been said that the plot came at a time when tensions were already running high because of the murder of yet another Khalistan supporter, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada which fuelled further deterioration of international ties between India and North American nations.
The Washington Post reported that Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, are investigating the extent to which higher-ups in RAW or India’s political leadership have been involved. Though the U.S. hasn’t formally charged Yadav, others involved in the scam have been arrested, including Nikhil Gupta, believed to be a middleman in the conspiracy. The U.S. diplomatic discussions with India are ongoing on the sensitive topic since cross-border operations are against those branded as threats by the Indian state.
This has shed new light into the complexity of India’s relations with both the U.S. and Canada, particularly as similar charges and killings involving separatists in exile have occurred within the recent years. This has prompted the Indian government officially to open up its investigation into this issue, reaffirming its emphasis on national security while promising that there is no official participation in any such overseas plot.
