US charges Indian police official for attempting to murder Pannun 

The US Justice Department has filed charges against an Indian police official accusing him of  murder-for-hire and money laundering.

The Department, in a statement on Thursday night, said the charges are against an Indian government employee, Vikash Yadav, 39, also known as Vikas, and Amanat, in connection with his role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City --- Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

US media, citing Department of Justice documents,  had earlier identified the police official as 'Vikram Yadav'. The charges reveal the name as Vikas Yadav. On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the "person facing an indictment is no longer an employee of the Government of India".

Under US laws, an indictment is not an assumption of being guilty.

The US Justice Department said Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, 53, was previously charged and extradited to the US on charges contained in the first superseding indictment. Yadav remains at large.

The statement quoted the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray as saying, “The defendant, an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil".

The accusation is that in or about May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination of Pannun in the US.

Yadav and Gupta  have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.