The indictment against Vikash Yadav points to a direct link between the Indian government and what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire scheme on American soil.
A former Indian intelligence official is facing federal charges in the U.S. for allegedly orchestrating a foiled plot to assassinate an American citizen in New York City who is a leader in the movement pushing for an independent Sikh homeland.
The indictment against Vikash Yadav, unsealed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, points to a direct link between the Indian government and what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire scheme on American soil.
The Justice Department first announced charges in the case last year, indicting an Indian national and alleged drug and weapons trafficker, Nikhil Gupta. That indictment also referred to an unnamed Indian government official whom prosecutors said directed the scheme.
The new indictment unsealed Thursday identifies that official as Yadav and makes him a co-defendant in the case. Yadav and Gupta each face charges of murder-for-hire conspiracy, murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Gupta was arrested last year in the Czech Republic and extradited to the U.S. He has pleaded not guilty. Yadav, meanwhile, remains at large, according to the Justice Department.
