Delhi court issues warrant against ex-R&AW officer Vikash Yadav in abduction case
Yadav was arrested in the case in 2023, but was released on bail in 2024; he has cited threats to his life as the reason for not appearing for court hearings
A Delhi court has issued a non-bailable warrant against former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer Vikash Yadav, named by the US as a conspirator in an alleged plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in an extortion and kidnapping case.
According to reports, a warrant was issued in Yadav’s name on Monday (August 25) for not appearing in court “despite repeated calls” in a matter pertaining to the abduction and attempted murder case lodged against him and others on a complaint by a businessman based in Delhi.
Also Read: ‘Threat to life’: Pannun plot accused Vikash Yadav gets breather in Delhi case
In an order, Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts said, “Issue NBWs against accused Vikas Yadav and notice to his surety under Section 491 Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (the procedure when bond has been forfeited) for October 17.”
A family member of Yadav is reportedly the surety in the case.
The case is being probed by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Arrested in 2023, got bail in 2024
Yadav was arrested by the Special Cell in 2023 after a Rohini resident accused him of extortion and kidnapping and linked him to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The arrest came three weeks after the US Department of Justice indicted him in connection with his alleged role in the murder-for-hire plot against Sikh extremist Pannun.
Yadav, and another accused in the Rohini case were, however, released later – he first got an interim bail in March 2024 and a regular bail in April. The police had filed a chargesheet in the case.
Yadav has earlier cited threats to his life as the reason for not appearing in person for the hearings in the court.
Also Read: US charges ex-Indian agent of attempt to kill Sikh separatist in New York
What is the Rohini case?
The latest non-bailable warrant issued against him was due to his failure to appear before the Patiala House Court on Monday in the case pertaining to the complaint by Delhi-based businessman Raj Kumar Walia.
In his complaint, Walia alleged that Vikash Yadav and co-accused Abdullah Khan kidnapped and tortured him for ransom on behalf of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.