An Indian RAW official was involved in a plot to kill a separatist Sikh American national last summer in and around the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal prosecutors alleged on Thursday in a damaging indictment filed in a US court in New York.
The official identified as Vikas Yadav, 39, was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the federal prosecutors claimed.
Yadav, who is believed to be no longer a government employee, has been charged with three counts, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He "remains at large", the Department of Justice said.
His co-conspirator Nikhil Gupta was arrested in Czechoslovakia last year and is languishing in a US jail after extradition.
"Today's charges demonstrate that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to target and endanger Americans and to undermine the rights to which every US citizen is entitled," US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.
"The defendant, an Indian government employee, allegedly conspired with a criminal associate and attempted to assassinate a US citizen on American soil for exercising their First Amendment rights," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The Indian government has denied its association or involvement with such a plot to kill an American national on US soil.
Following allegations by the US, New Delhi had set up an inquiry committee to investigate the matter. The US has expressed satisfaction on cooperation from India on this.
Unsealing of the second indictment comes within 48 hours of an Indian Enquiry Committee visiting here to have a meeting with an inter-agency team of officials from the FBI, Department of Justice and the State Department on these issues.
"We are satisfied with the cooperation. It continues to be an ongoing process. We continue to work with them on that, but we do appreciate the cooperation, and we appreciate them updating us on their investigation as we update them on ours," State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
"The meeting that occurred yesterday -- we updated -- we being the US government broadly -- updated members of the Committee of Inquiry about the investigation that the United States has been conducting. We've received an update from them on the investigation that they have been conducting. It was a productive meeting, and I will leave it at that," Miller said. -- PTI