Latest news with #VikashYadav
The Print
28-05-2025
- The Print
No arguments on charges yet in extortion case against Vikash Yadav, supplementary chargesheet soon
'The judge has ordered that the investigating team files the supplementary chargesheet by 25 August. Arguments on charges cannot commence until then,' a source privy to the matter said. Arguments on charges were supposed to commence in the matter in this month's hearing at Delhi's Patiala House court. However, according to sources, the investigating team said that the probe is still underway, and the judge asked the investigating officer to file the supplementary chargesheet on or before the date of next hearing—25 August. New Delhi: A supplementary chargesheet will be filed in the 2023 kidnapping and attempted murder case against former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer Vikash Yadav, the investigating officer told the court during the latest hearing on 22 May, ThePrint has learnt. Yadav has not been appearing for the case hearings, citing threat to his life through exemption pleas filed by his counsels. He has claimed that the charges against him are false and frivolous, and since the particulars of his life are in public domain along with his photographs, it has exposed a 'serious threat' to his life. The former R&AW officer is also an accused in the alleged murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. While Nikhil Gupta, co-accused in this case, continues to remain behind bars in a Brooklyn prison, Yadav is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The one in India against Yadav pertains to a Special Cell case against him and one Abdullah Khan on charges of extortion, kidnapping and attempt to murder. Yadav was arrested in the matter in December 2023 after the complainant alleged that he and Khan abducted and tortured him, and demanded ransom in the name of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The first chargesheet filed in the matter, as ThePrint reported in October last year, relied heavily on the former R&AW officer's disclosure. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: No CCTV or weapon of offence, chargesheet relies on Vikash Yadav's disclosure in 2023 extortion case
Russia Today
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
India hits back at US agency over religious freedom accusations
New Delhi on Wednesday rebuked a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which had chided India over alleged 'worsening treatment of minorities in the country.' The report claimed that conditions for religious freedom in India have 'kept getting worse, with increasing attacks and discrimination against minority religious group.' The commission also recommended the US government designate India as a 'country of particular concern' for religious freedom violations and 'impose targeted sanctions' against a former Indian intelligence officer and India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). In a strong statement, Indian Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that USCIRF is carrying on 'its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments,' citing the US organization's 'persistent attempts' to misrepresent isolated incidents that 'reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom.' USCIRF's 2025 Annual Report assessed religious freedom violations and progress in 28 countries during the 2024 calendar year and defined recommendations for American policy makers. The commission also recommended imposing targeted sanctions on RAW over alleged links to plots targeting Sikh separatists in North America. Last year, the US government charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, in connection with a thwarted plot to kill a separatist Sikh Our response to media queries regarding the 2025 Annual Report of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom⬇️🔗 — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 26, 2025 India, which has previously designated Khalistan supporters or Sikh separatists as security threats, has denied any involvement in the alleged plot. New Delhi, however, countered that efforts to undermine India's standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed. 'In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern,' the foreign ministry said. READ MORE: Sikh separatists heckle Indian foreign minister in London (VIDEO) The agency criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party the BJP for allegedly spreading hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities during the previous year's election campaign. New Delhi, has labeled the criticism as 'deeply biased' , as reported by Reuters. The US report also alleged that New Delhi was indulging in repressive tactics beyond its borders to target Sikh minorities and their supporters abroad. Those who spoke out about India's religious freedom issues, including journalists, academics, and civil society groups, faced retaliation in the form of denial of consular services, revocation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, threats of violence, and surveillance, it claimed. The Indian government has consistently expressed concerns to the governments of the UK, Canada, and US regarding the activities of Khalistan supporters in these countries. Pro-Khalistan separatists have organized protests, chanted anti-India slogans, and targeted Indian diplomatic missions and Hindu temples with violent attacks in these nations, which have significant Sikh populations.
Reuters
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US religious freedom panel urges sanctions against India's external spy agency
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - Minorities in India face deteriorating treatment, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said on Tuesday, opens new tab, and it recommended targeted sanctions against India's external spy agency over alleged involvement in assassination plots against Sikh separatists. The panel's annual report also said communist-ruled Vietnam stepped up efforts to regulate and control religious affairs. It recommended Vietnam - a country like India with which Washington has sought to build close ties given shared concerns about China - also be designated a "country of particular concern." Analysts say Washington has long seen New Delhi as a counter to China's rising influence in Asia and elsewhere, and, hence, overlooked human rights issues in India. It is unlikely the U.S. government will sanction India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) spy service, as the panel's recommendations are not binding. Since 2023, India's alleged targeting of Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada has emerged as a wrinkle in U.S.-India ties, with Washington charging an ex-Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, in a foiled U.S. plot. India labels Sikh separatists as security threats and has denied involvement. "In 2024, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise," the U.S. commission said in a report released on Tuesday. It said Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities" during last year's election campaign. Modi in April last year referred to Muslims as "infiltrators" who have "more children." U.S. State Department reports on human rights and religious freedom have noted minority abuses in recent years. New Delhi calls them " deeply biased." Modi, who has been prime minister since 2014, denies discrimination and says his government's policies like electrification drives and subsidy schemes help all communities. The panel recommended the U.S. government "designate India as a 'country of particular concern'" for religious freedom violations and "impose targeted sanctions" against Yadav and RAW. The Indian embassy had no immediate comment. Rights advocates, in noting the plight of Indian minorities, point to rising hate speech, a citizenship law the U.N. called " fundamentally discriminatory," anti-conversion legislation, opens new tab that critics say challenges freedom of belief, the revoking, opens new tab of Muslim majority Kashmir's special status and the demolition of properties owned by Muslims. The commission is a bipartisan U.S. government advisory body that monitors religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations. On Vietnam, the panel said a new decree issued this month allowed Vietnamese authorities to further demand financial records from religious organizations and suspend religious activities for what the report said were vaguely worded "serious violations." As of December, the U.S. panel's Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List included over 80 prisoners whom the Vietnamese government punished for religious activities or religious freedom advocacy. The Vietnamese embassy had no immediate comment.
