The United States has charged a former Indian government official with allegedly orchestrating a plot to murder a Sikh separatist in New York. The plot was foiled before the man could be killed.

An indictment against 39-year-old Vikash Yadav by the United States Department of Justice, unsealed on Thursday, identified him as a former “senior field officer” in the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s foreign intelligence service.

While prosecutors did not disclose the name of the target of the foiled plot, the Financial Times had last year identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for the US-based group Sikhs for Justice.

On Thursday, the United States Department of Justice alleged that Yadav hired an Indian citizen named Nikhil Gupta to murder Pannun. The department accused Yadav of murder-for-hire and money laundering, but said that he currently “remains at large”.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also placed Yadav on its “wanted” list, and said that a federal arrest warrant was issued against him on October 10.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said that the agency “will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the US for exercising their constitutionally protected rights”.

The indictment describes Panun as a vocal critic of the Indian government who leads a US -based organisation that advocates for Khalistan, an independent homeland for Sikhs sought by some groups. He is banned in India for his separatist activities, it noted.

The US Department of Justice alleged that in May 2023, Yadav agreed to pay a purported hitman $100,000, or Rs 84 lakh, to murder Pannun. The purported hitman, however, was in fact an undercover officer of the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration.

Gupta travelled to Prague from India in June 2023 where was arrested by Czech authorities, and extradited to the United States. In June, he pleaded not guilty.

In November, the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, announced that it filed “murder-for-hire charges” against Gupta, in connection with his alleged participation in the plot to assassinate Pannun.

On Thursday, the United States Department of Justice said in a statement that Yadav has been accused of “murder-for-hire and money laundering” charges for his alleged role in directing the failed murder plot against a citizen of the United States.

In a statement on Thursday, Pannun welcomed Yadav’s indictment, adding that the United States had done its “fundamental constitutional duty” to protect citizens, the Financial Times reported.

The development came days after an escalation in diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, resulting in the expulsion of diplomats from both sides.

The escalation of diplomatic tensions occurred after the Canadian government alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of another Sikh Separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar's near Vancouver in June 2023.