Indian intelligence officer accused of being the ‘mastermind’ behind murder-for-hire plot against Sikh dissident Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

Federal prosecutors charged an employee of India’s intelligence service with allegedly directing an audacious plot to kill a vocal Sikh activist in New York, an escalation in a long-running investigation that has threatened a rift in the U.S.-India alliance.

An Indian government employee is accused of plotting the murder-for-hire of a Sikh separatist leader in New York City, the Justice Department said.