Indian Man Accused of Plot to Assassinate U.S. Activist Pleads Guilty

NEW YORK: An Indian man accused by U.S. prosecutors of plotting to assassinate a prominent U.S.-based activist—after allegedly being recruited by an agent of the Indian government—has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

Nikhil Gupta faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and money laundering in connection with a failed attempt to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Pannun is a U.S. resident and an advocate for a sovereign Sikh state, known as “Khalistan,” in northern India.

“Gupta plotted to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “He thought that from outside this country he could kill someone in it without consequence. But he was wrong, and he will face justice. Our message to all nefarious foreign actors should be clear: steer clear of the United States and our people.”

FBI Assistant Director James Barnacle added that Gupta had acted at the direction and coordination of an Indian government agent.

The guilty plea marks a significant development in a case that began in June 2023, when another high-profile Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Justin Trudeau, who was serving as Canada’s prime minister at the time, said months later that there were “credible allegations” linking agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s killing.

India rejected those claims as “absurd” and politically motivated. However, the allegations gained renewed attention in November of that year when the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York unsealed an indictment against Gupta and announced that he was being extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic.

Gupta was described by prosecutors as an Indian national residing in India and an associate of an Indian government agent —later identified as Vikash Yadav—who allegedly recruited him to orchestrate the assassination of Pannun, a U.S. citizen, on American soil.

Yadav was also indicted but remains at large and is the subject of a federal arrest warrant.

According to prosecutors, when Gupta contacted an individual to carry out the murder, he believed he was dealing with a criminal associate. In reality, the individual was a confidential source working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Gurpatwant Singh told ARY News that the case represented a “blatant example of India’s transnational terrorism,” adding that the failed attempt on his life had only strengthened his efforts to pursue a symbolic referendum on an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan.