An individual from India admitted guilt on Friday to charges in the United States for orchestrating an unsuccessful Indian government-supported scheme to eliminate a Sikh separatist in New York City. This incident is part of a larger effort, identified by U.S. and Canadian authorities, to target dissidents in India.
Nikhil Gupta, aged 54, confessed to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. prosecutors alleged that Gupta conspired with an Indian government official to plan the assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen and attorney at Sikhs for Justice in New York. Pannun advocates for a separate Sikh state in northern India.
India’s government distanced itself from any involvement in the plot against Pannun, emphasizing that it goes against official government policy. The discovery of planned assassination attempts against Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada has strained relations with India, which denies any connection to such activities.
In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot in Surrey, B.C., leading then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suggest Indian government involvement in the incident. Nijjar’s killing was referenced in the Gupta case, linking Nijjar as an associate of the intended victim in the U.S. assassination plan organized by Gupta.
Gupta entered his guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in a federal court in Manhattan. He admitted to arranging for someone to murder an individual in the United States and paid $15,000 to a person in New York to carry out the crime, as stated in a transcript of his plea hearing.
Gupta has been in custody in Brooklyn, N.Y., since his extradition to the U.S. in June 2024 from the Czech Republic, where he was apprehended a year earlier. His sentencing is set for May 29, according to court records. His legal representatives did not respond immediately to requests for comments, and the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., also did not provide an immediate response to inquiries.
Prosecutors indicated that an Indian government official named Vikash Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to organize Pannun’s assassination. Gupta disclosed to Yadav his involvement in international drug and weapon trafficking activities.
According to court documents, Yadav made arrangements through Gupta to pay $100,000 to an alleged hitman, who was actually an undercover agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, to eliminate Pannun. Gupta and Yadav orchestrated a $15,000 cash delivery to the undercover officer as an upfront payment for the murder.
Yadav, employed by India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the country’s foreign intelligence service, faces the same charges as Gupta but is not in U.S. custody. It remains uncertain whether Yadav has retained legal representation.
Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, condemned Gupta’s actions, stating that he conspired to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City, erroneously believing he could evade consequences for targeting someone exercising their right to free speech in America.