Vikash Yadav, ex-RAW official ‘wanted’ in Pannun case, was arrested by Delhi Police last year

Vikash Yadav, a former Indian spy, was arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell on December 18, 2023, following an FIR filed by a resident of Rohini, Delhi, who accused Yadav of extortion and kidnapping. The complainant, a former IT professional, claimed Yadav had ties to the notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. This arrest came less than three weeks after Yadav's name surfaced in U.S. Department of Justice documents as "CC-1" (co-conspirator) in a foiled assassination plot targeting pro-Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on U.S. soil.

The Rohini resident who filed the FIR revealed that he had initially met Yadav through a mutual friend in November 2022. Yadav had introduced himself as a senior government official, and though the two struck up a friendship, they never discussed business. However, the complainant noted that Yadav had displayed considerable interest in his overseas contacts, particularly those based in West Asia, and how he conducted financial transactions with them.

According to The Indian Express, Yadav, in his police disclosure, admitted that his father had worked with the Border Security Force (BSF) before passing away in 2007. Yadav, who got married in 2015, met the complainant at a social gathering and devised a plan to kidnap him for ransom. He enlisted the help of an associate, a car dealer who had been facing financial losses and decided to join the scheme for financial gain.

The arrest of Yadav for extortion came months after he had already been mentioned in U.S. court documents as being involved in a larger international conspiracy. On Friday, Yadav was officially named by the U.S. Department of Justice and charged with “murder-for-hire” and money laundering for his role in the failed plot to assassinate Pannun, a vocal pro-Khalistani leader and critic of the Indian government. Federal prosecutors claimed that Yadav, 39, had worked for the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The Ministry of External Affairs in India confirmed on Thursday that Yadav was no longer employed by the Indian government, following the revelations about his involvement in the assassination plot. According to U.S. federal prosecutors, the plot aimed to kill Pannun on U.S. soil, a plan that was ultimately thwarted.

The Indian Express report highlighted that Yadav’s arrest for extortion was made quietly, and he was later released on bail in April 2023. His arrest in India, coupled with the charges he now faces in the U.S., has cast a spotlight on his alleged criminal activities both domestically and internationally.

As investigations by both Indian law enforcement and U.S. authorities continue, more details are expected to emerge regarding Yadav’s involvement in organized crime and the assassination plot, raising concerns about his broader network of contacts and potential ties to other criminal figures. The unfolding of these cases is being closely watched in both India and the U.S.