Indian Government Employee Charged in Foiled Assassination Plot Against U.S. Citizen in New York

Malé, Maldives — The U.S. Justice Department has announced murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Vikash Yadav, 39, an Indian government employee, in connection with an elaborate scheme to assassinate a U.S. citizen on American soil. Yadav, who remains at large, is accused of orchestrating the plot targeting a vocal critic of the Indian government residing in New York City. His co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, 53, has already been charged and extradited to the U.S.

The victim, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, has been an outspoken advocate for the secession of Punjab from India and the creation of a Sikh sovereign state, Khalistan. This advocacy made the individual a target of the assassination plot, as the Indian government has banned both the victim and their separatist organization from entering India.

According to the Justice Department, Yadav, who worked for the Indian government's Cabinet Secretariat, recruited Gupta in May 2023 to facilitate the assassination. Gupta, who had previously described involvement in narcotics and weapons trafficking, contacted what he believed to be a criminal associate to hire a hitman. However, this associate was a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the hitman was actually an undercover DEA agent.

Yadav agreed to pay $100,000 for the murder, and an advance payment of $15,000 was delivered in Manhattan. Yadav and Gupta allegedly provided the undercover agent with detailed information about the victim’s whereabouts and daily activities. Despite plans to delay the assassination during the Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to the U.S. in June 2023, Gupta urged the hitman to act after the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a close associate of the victim and fellow Sikh separatist, in Canada.

Yadav and Gupta now face multiple charges, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison. The investigation, led by the DEA and FBI, continues as authorities work to apprehend Yadav.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized that "the Justice Department will be relentless in holding accountable any person who seeks to harm and silence American citizens."