Indian Man Pleads Guilty to Assassination Plot Against US Activist
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused by US prosecutors of being recruited by an Indian government agent to assassinate a US activist, has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan confirmed.
Gupta faces up to 40 years in prison after admitting guilt to charges including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and money laundering. These charges relate to the failed attempt to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident and advocate for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
“Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a US citizen in New York City,” said US attorney Jay Clayton. “He thought that from outside this country he could kill someone in it without consequence, simply for exercising their American right to free speech. 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.”
James Barnacle, the FBI assistant director in charge, stated that Gupta acted “at the direction and coordination of an Indian government employee.”
Pannun, who works as a lawyer for the New York-based group Sikhs for Justice, was not immediately available for comment. When the plot was first revealed in 2023, Pannun described the case to as a “blatant case of India’s transnational terrorism” and said the failed assassination attempt had strengthened his commitment to pursue a symbolic referendum on an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan.
Background and Related Developments
This case represents a significant development following the June 2023 murder of another prominent Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada. At the time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian government involvement in Nijjar’s killing, a claim India denied as “absurd” and politically motivated. Trudeau’s allegations gained further weight in November 2023 when the US attorney’s office in New York unsealed an indictment against Gupta and announced his extradition from the Czech Republic to the US.
Gupta was identified as an Indian national residing in India and an associate of an Indian government official, later named Vikash Yadav, who recruited Gupta to organize the assassination of Pannun on US soil. Yadav is also charged and is subject to a federal arrest warrant.
When Gupta contacted an individual to carry out the murder, he believed he was communicating with a criminal associate; however, the individual was actually a confidential source working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, according to US prosecutors.
India’s government has distanced itself from any involvement in the plot against Pannun, stating that such actions are against government policy, reported.
Context in US-India Relations
This news comes shortly after a notable development in US-India relations earlier in June 2024, when former US President Donald Trump claimed that India had agreed to cease purchasing Russian oil and that he had agreed to reduce US tariffs on Indian exports. Trump referred to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “one of my greatest friends” in a social media post. US officials have stated there is no evidence that Modi was aware of the assassination plot, according to the New York Times.
