US charges Indian government employee in foiled Sikh separatist murder plot

Case revolves around what the US says was an attempt to kill a prominent Sikh separatist leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The United States has filed charges against an Indian government employee it says was involved in a failed plot to kill an American citizen, who is a prominent advocate for Sikh separatism, in New York.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Thursday that it filed “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges” against Vikash Yadav.

Another suspect in the case, Nikhil Gupta, was extradited to the US earlier this year to face charges while Yadav remains at large, according to US authorities.

“The defendant [Yadav], an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil for exercising their First Amendment rights,” Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said in a statement.

“The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the US for exercising their constitutionally protected rights.”

The Indian government did not immediately comment on the allegations on Thursday.

It has previously rejected accusations that a government agent was involved in the murder plot as “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated”, according to media reports.

The case revolves around an alleged scheme to kill Sikh American activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun, the legal adviser for the group Sikhs for Justice, is a vocal member of a Sikh campaign for a sovereign state in India’s Punjab region, known as the Khalistan movement.

India views Sikh separatism as a threat to its sovereignty. Over the past few years, the country has been