NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Monday fixed May 22 as the date for arguments on charges in a kidnapping and attempted murder case against Vikash Yadav, a former RAW officer indicted by US over an alleged plot to kill pro-Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Additional sessions judge Sumit Dass fixed the date after Delhi Police informed the court that further investigations were pending into extortion allegations tied to the 2023 kidnapping-attempted murder case. The probe pertained to some call records.
Yadav was charged by US department of justice in 2023 with murder-for-hire and money laundering offences related to the alleged Pannun murder plot. Monday, Delhi court granted Yadav exemption from physical appearance for the third time. His advocates RK Handoo and Aditya Chaudhary cited threats to his life, just as they had done for hearings in Nov last year and Feb. The counsel said key details about Yadav’s home and background, along with photos, were published all over the world, exposing him to serious threats from “nefarious elements”.
In Dec 2023, less than three weeks after US DOJ listed Yadav as ‘CC-1’ (co-conspirator) in the Pannun case, Delhi police arrested him and an associate, Abdullah Khan.
In the Delhi case, Yadav and Khan have been booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 364A (abduction), 506 (threatening), 341 (wrongful confinement), 328 (poisoning), as well as some sections of Arms Act.
