Pannun murder plot: 'CC-1' is named as Vikas Yadav in new US indictment
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The development comes in spite of the hush-hush visit of a high-level Indian inquiry committee to the US on Monday to assess the evidence with the Department of Justice about the till then unnamed Vikas Yadav and the Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta he purportedly "recruited" to hire a hitman to kill Pannun on American soil. The hitman hired by Gupta turned out to be a US secret service agent in disguise deployed by the sleuths
and was caught red-handed while handing the cash-for-murder, to the total embarrassment of Indian intelligence.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has put out images of Vikas Yadav on its list of “wanted.” A Federal warrant of arrest was issued on October 10.
ALSO SEE: The second unsealed superseding indictment
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NEW YORK CITY (New York), Oct 17: The US Justice Department on Thursday named
and charged the “former Indian intelligence officer” who was behind the plot
to murder Sikh separatist leader and dual US-Canadian citizen Gurpatwant Singh
Pannun, residing in New York City. The ex-RAW employee, identified as Vikas Yadav (39) in the latest indictment, has been charged with three counts, including murder-for-hire. He allegedly directed the foiled plot to eliminate Pannun, according to the indictment filed
in the federal court in Manhattan in New York on Thursday.
Earlier the accused was identified only as “CC-1” (co-conspirator) in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment and stated as “no longer an employee of the Indian Government”.
The development comes in spite of the hush-hush visit of a high-level Indian inquiry
committee to the US on Monday to assess the evidence with the Department of
Justice about the till then unnamed Vikas Yadav and the Indian citizen Nikhil
Gupta he purportedly "recruited" to hire a hitman to kill Pannun on American
soil. Gupta in turn hired a US secret service agent who was disguised as a hitman
and was caught red-handed in the cash-for-murder deal to the total embarrassment
of Indian intelligence.
Nikhil Gupta, also known as Nick, 53, was arrested and detained in the Czech
Republic on June 30, 2023, and extradited to the US in June last pursuant to
the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.
Soon after he was produced in a Manhattan federal court in New York where he
entered a plea of not guilty in the Pannun case. He is currently being prosecuted.
With the attorneys now revealing the name of CC-1 as Vikas Yadav, his prosecution
also will begin. The details of the processes required have not been stated.
The Department of Justice only said, he “remains at large.”
Notwithstanding his current status, the indictment states that Vikas Yadav
plotted to kill Pannun in May 2023, when he was an employee of the Indian Government
at the time, and that he collaborated with other people in India and abroad.
This tantamounts to pointing a finger at the Government of India which may have
serious repercussions in bilateral relations, despite the fact that Pannun's
activities on American soil are detrimental to India's sovereignty and that
the US action is only allowing and encouraging such activities instead of stopping
them.
India has been denying any involvement in the plot. However, it had set up
an inquiry committee following the US allegations. Monday's US visit by an Indian
team was a followup to assess the evidence the US has got in the case and to
talk to the FBI, Department of Justice and the State Department officials. On
Wednesday a State Department spokesperson told reporters, “We are satisfied
with the cooperation. However, on Thursday the indictment of Vikas Yadav was
filed, revealing his name and containing insinuations against the Government
of India.
Meanwhile, FBI director Christopher Wray 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 FBI director's style of statement echoes that of Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau's in the Sikh separatist leader Nijjar's murder.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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