Who is Vikas Yadav aka CC-1? Former RAW official charged by US in Pannun murder plot

The US Justice Department on Thursday charged a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official Vikash Yadav in connection with an alleged plot to murder Khalistani extremist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.

The 39-year-old Yadav was named as 'CC-1' in the indictment filed by the US Justice Department in 2023. He was not named then. Identified as CC-1, the indictment described him as a "senior field officer" with "intelligence" responsibilities. He was the one who recruited Nikhil Gupta, who is currently languishing in a US prison, to orchestrate the Pannun murder plot. He offered to secure the dismissal of a criminal case against Gupta in India in return.

However, Yadav was identified and charged in a second superseding indictment that was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday. The indictment read that Yadav was charged with "using his position of authority and access to confidential information to direct the attempted assassination of an outspoken critic of the Indian government here on U.S. soil."

RAW official from Haryana

Yadav was reportedly a "senior field officer" entrusted with security management and intelligence in RAW. As per the US, he has previously served in CRPF and has received officer training in battlecraft and weapons. Yadav allegedly directed the plot to assassinate the Victim from India.

The indictment said Yadav provided Gupta with personal information about the victim, including the victim’s home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with the victim, and details about the victim’s day-to-day conduct, which Gupta then passed to the UC. Yadav directed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot, which Gupta accomplished by forwarding to Yadav, among other things, surveillance photographs of the victim. 

The FBI also released his identification details, adding that he is "currently at large" and the case is pending. The circular added that he hails from Pranpura in Haryana. 

"The FBI, the 39-year-old, born on December 11, 1984, has a height of 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inches, weighs approximately 175 pounds (about 79 kgs) and has black hair and brown eyes. If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate."

However, the MEA has said that "the individual named in the US indictment in Pannun case" is no longer an employee of the Indian government. "The US State Department informed us that the individual mentioned in the indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced at a press briefing.

There were also reports that India informed the US that he had been arrested. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the arrest had no connection with the Canada developments, adding that the timing was not related at all and there had just been a remarkable overlap.