Trump replaces prosecutor who pressed charges in Pannun ‘plot’
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced the replacement of the federal prosecutor who filed charges against a former Indian Intelligence officer in an alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Trump nominated US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) former chairman Jay Clayton to serve as the District Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Had Prosecuted ex-RAW officer, Indian bizman
- Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams had filed a case against ex-RAW officer Vikash Yadav for trying to hire a hitman to kill Pannun
- Last year, he charged Indian bizman Nikhil Gupta as a co-conspirator in case. Gupta was extradited to US in June after arrest in Czech Republic
Clayton will replace the federal prosecutor, Damian Williams, who filed charges against Vikash Yadav, a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, accusing him of orchestrating a plot to hire a hitman to kill Pannun.
The development is being followed closely in India as the government has all along denied association or involvement in any such plot.
The other accused in the “murder-for-hire” case are Indian national Nikhil Gupta and a former Indian Intelligence officer, unnamed so far. Williams had charged Gupta, a businessman, as a co-conspirator. Gupta was extradited to the US in June from the Czech Republic. He has denied any role in the alleged plot.
In the charges filed, Yadav is described as a “senior field officer” of RAW. He is reportedly in custody in India on charges of kidnapping and extortion. Yadav is on the “wanted” list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
They are accused of trying to hire a person they believed was a professional criminal — who later turned out to be a government agent — to kill Pannun.
Trump hailed Clayton as “a highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant”. “He did an incredible job at the SEC,” he added.
Clayton was the SEC chairman during Trump’s first tenure from 2017-21. He brings special expertise to Wall Street and financial irregularities cases. The Southern District of New York covers Manhattan and handles high-profile cases involving investments, and stock market trading manipulation and fraud. Like India, fresh appointments to key posts are made when a new government takes over in the US.
