A Delhi court has issued a non-bailable warrant for Vikash Yadav, a former R&AW officer, following accusations by the United States of his involvement in a plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The court also sent a notice to Yadav’s surety due to his failure to appear in a separate kidnapping and extortion case, despite repeated summons. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts noted Yadav’s absence and directed the issuance of the warrant, along with a notice to the surety under the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita. The next hearing is scheduled for October 17.
U.S. prosecutors have accused Yadav of directing a foiled plot to kill Pannun, a case that has strained India-U.S. relations. U.S. authorities have filed murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against Yadav, who allegedly used the alias “Amanat” to communicate with a co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, to facilitate the assassination. Yadav, born in Haryana in 1984, was an Assistant Commandant at the CRPF. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that the individual named in the U.S. indictment is no longer employed by the Indian government.