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Vikash Yadav, Charged By US In Pannun 'Murder' Plot, Claims Threat To His Life, Asked To Appear Before Delhi Court In February 2025
Kuldeep Negi
Nov 17, 2024, 11:15 AM | Updated 11:15 AM IST
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Nearly a month after being charged by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) with “murder-for-hire” and money laundering over an alleged plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Vikash Yadav has moved an application before a Delhi court seeking exemption from attending his case hearing, citing security threat to his life.
On Saturday (16 November), the court granted Yadav exemption from attending the hearing and asked him to appear on 3 February.
On 18 December 2023, less than three weeks after being named as “CC-1” (co-conspirator) in DoJ documents in November, Yadav was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on charges of kidnapping and extortion.
After spending four months in Tihar jail, he was released on bail in April, according to the court records cited in an Indian Express report.
On 18 October this year, the FBI’s New York office added him to its wanted list.
The indictment claimed Yadav was employed by the “government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat,” under the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.
Responding to this, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson clarified that the person is “no longer an employee of the government of India.”
Yadav, through his advocate R K Handoo, filed a two-page application claiming that the Delhi Police had registered a false case against him.
He further claimed that there is a security threat to his life since his photographs, house address along with pictures, and details of his whereabouts are in the public domain.
To substantiate this, Yadav attached news reports showing his picture.
He has claimed that because of the threat, he can’t join the case hearing even through video conferencing as there is a possibility that his location could be tracked.
Yadav’s application was listed before a Delhi court on Saturday, where his request was approved but he was asked to appear for the next hearing on 3 February 2025.
“There is a security threat to his life and we have moved an application for exemption from the court hearing. The court has approved his request and gave him exemption," Yadav's advocate Handoo was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.
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