An individual from India admitted guilt on Friday to American criminal charges for masterminding an unsuccessful scheme backed by the Indian government to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York City. This case is linked to broader efforts by U.S. and Canadian authorities to target dissidents from India.
Nikhil Gupta, aged 54, acknowledged his involvement in murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. prosecutors accused Gupta of colluding with an Indian government official to plan the assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen and lawyer advocating for a separate Sikh state in northern India.
The Indian government has distanced itself from any involvement in the plot against Pannun, stating that it goes against official policy. The revelation of alleged assassination plots against Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada has strained relations with India, which has denied any participation in such activities.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023, leading then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suggest the Indian government’s involvement. Nijjar’s killing was referenced in Gupta’s case, linking Nijjar as an associate of the intended victim in the planned U.S. assassination orchestrated by Gupta.
Gupta made his plea in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in a federal court in Manhattan, admitting to arranging the murder of an individual in the U.S. and paying $15,000 to a New York individual to carry out the crime. Gupta has been in custody in Brooklyn, New York, since his extradition from the Czech Republic in June 2024, with sentencing scheduled for May 29.
Prosecutors disclosed that an Indian government official, Vikash Yadav, recruited Gupta in May 2023 to coordinate Pannun’s assassination. Yadav and Gupta negotiated a payment of $100,000 US to a supposed hitman, who was actually an undercover officer from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Yadav, associated with India’s Cabinet Secretariat, faces the same charges as Gupta but is not in U.S. custody at present.
U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, condemned Gupta’s actions, emphasizing that plotting to harm a U.S. citizen in New York City for exercising their right to free speech would not go unpunished.