"He has been made a scapegoat," says FBI-wanted Vikash Yadav's lawyer

New Delhi [India], November 17 (ANI): The lawyer of Vikash Yadav, accused of attempted murder of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said on Sunday that Yadav is being made a 'scapegoat' in international politics and any allegations against him are completely baseless.
"He has been made a scapegoat because he is absolutely innocent. The allegations which have been leveled by the US, which were reported in the media, have no basis whatsoever. These allegations are subject to scrutiny in court, proof in court, but these allegations are absolutely baseless, there's no truth in it," said lawyer Aditya Choudhary.
On asked whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in US has any input on the allegations against the attempted killing of US-based Khalistani separatist, he said he is not aware of any such material regarding that.
"We don't have any material on that, there are only baseless allegations in media. I am repeating again that these allegations are subject to scrutiny in court and I am sure will not stand the scrutiny," he said.
Earlier today, a Delhi court granted the applicant Vikash Yadav exemption from attending the hearing and directed him to appear on February 3.
"The case which we were dealing with, it is going on in Patiala house court, in that case he was arrested in December last year and a he got bail on April this year, in that case he is out on bail. Yesterday a case was listed in the court and we filed an application from seeking personal attendance, and the honorable court was kind enough to accept our request and grant him exemption," the lawyer added.
The lawyer said that Yadav has threats to his life due to the allegations made in media.
Choudhary said, "At the moment he is concerned with his life, he can't risk his life. The allegations put in the media, there is genuine and persistent threat to his life. That's why he can't take a risk whatsoever because there are chances of his location being traced."
Earlier, the plea filed in the high court alleged that his personal details--such as his address, background, and photographs--have been widely circulated globally, thereby exposing him to a serious threat to his life from malicious elements.
The plea further stated that the applicant is being relentlessly monitored by hostile elements, who are attempting to track him at all possible locations, leaving him with no option but to remain confined for his safety.
"We sought exemption was because of the baseless allegations which were reported last month in media in which certain photographs were circulated. Due to those allegations and worldwide publicity of photographs etc he has security concerns for his life, there is a threat to his life, and because of that we requested the exemption," the lawyer said. (ANI)