US Commission Calls for Sanctions on India’s RAW Over Alleged Assassination Plots
Religious Freedom Violations
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged sanctions against India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) due to its alleged involvement in assassination plots against pro-Khalistan separatists. Khalistan is a proposed independent nation for Sikhs.
The USCIRF, an independent American government agency that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion, also recommended targeted sanctions on individuals such as Vikash Yadav, a former RAW officer.
Charges Against Vikash Yadav
The US has accused Yadav of murder-for-hire and money laundering in connection with an alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York.
Citing alleged “culpability in severe violations of religious freedom”, the panel said that persons such as Yadav and entities such as the RAW must be barred from entering the country or have their assets frozen, or both.
Country of Particular Concern
The commission reiterated its recommendation that India be designated a “country of particular concern” for allegedly “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations”. This is the sixth time that the panel has made this recommendation.
The latest recommendations were made in the panel’s annual report and are not binding.
India’s Response
India’s foreign ministry claimed that the commission was continuing with its “pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments”. The ministry also said that efforts to undermine India’s standing “as a beacon of democracy and tolerance” will not succeed.
Attacks Against Minorities
Quoting remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the commission said that ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Indian government officials had “wielded hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric” against Muslims and other religious minorities.
In 2024, violent attacks against religious minorities and places of worship had “persisted with impunity”, the US panel said.
The report said that Indian authorities had “repeatedly violated” the law by “bulldozing Muslim-owned property including mosques deemed ‘illegal’”.
Vikash Yadav Case
In October, the US charged Yadav with murder-for-hire and money laundering in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Pannun. The plot was part of a larger conspiracy to kill one person in California and at least three in Canada, the US Department of Justice alleged.
New Delhi has denied involvement in the alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatists.
Yadav was arrested by Delhi Police in a seemingly unrelated extortion case in December 2023, less than three weeks after he was named in the alleged plot to kill Pannun.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has placed Yadav on its “wanted” list and sought more information about him.
Yadav was described in the US indictment as a senior field officer in the RAW. The external affairs ministry had said in October that Yadav was “not part of the Government of India setup”.
An indictment that became public in November 2023 had referred to Yadav as unidentified co-conspirator “CC-1” and left out any mention of the RAW.
In January, a high-powered inquiry committee, set up by the Indian government to investigate the matter, had recommended speedy “legal action against an individual”. The ministry, however, did not name the individual against whom action has been recommended.
New Delhi set up the committee in November 2023 after the Financial Times reported that the Biden administration had foiled a plot to assassinate Pannun.
The newspaper report also said that the US had warned India about concerns that the Modi government was allegedly involved in the conspiracy. Indian officials had expressed “surprise and concern” in response to the allegations, the White House was quoted as having said.
Subsequently, the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, announced in November 2023 that it had filed murder-for-hire charges against another Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta in connection with his alleged participation in the plot to assassinate Pannun.
The US justice department alleged that Yadav had hired Gupta to murder Pannun.
Gupta was extradited to the US in June. The Czech authorities arrested him on June 30, 2023, at the request of the US when he travelled from India to the Czech capital Prague.
