Desk :A 54-year-old Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, has pleaded guilty in the United States to orchestrating a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a US citizen and Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City, in a case that has attracted significant diplomatic attention.
The US Department of Justice confirmed on Thursday that Gupta admitted to charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He entered the plea before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan and is scheduled for sentencing on May 29, 2026. If convicted to the fullest extent, he could face up to 40 years in prison, though the final sentence will be decided by the court.
US prosecutors allege that Gupta, acting at the direction of an Indian government official, planned to kill a US-based attorney and political activist of Indian origin. While court documents refer to the intended target as “the victim,” the individual is widely reported to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Khalistani leader designated as a terrorist in India.
Indian authorities have labeled Pannun a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His organization has been banned in India, and New Delhi accuses him of promoting violence and separatism through calls for a separate Sikh state.
According to prosecutors, Gupta was recruited in 2023 by Vikash Yadav, identified in court filings as an employee of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country’s foreign intelligence agency. Acting on Yadav’s instructions, Gupta allegedly attempted to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination on US soil.
US authorities say Gupta negotiated a $100,000 payment for the killing, arranged a $15,000 advance, and provided detailed personal information about the target, including home address, phone numbers, and daily routines. Unbeknownst to Gupta, the individuals he contacted were cooperating with US law enforcement, leading to the plot’s disruption by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Court documents also indicate that Gupta instructed an undercover officer to delay the attack to avoid coinciding with the Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to the United States in June 2023. After the killing of another Khalistani leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada later that month, Gupta allegedly suggested there was “now no need to wait.”
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the United States in 2024.
The case carries broader diplomatic implications. In November 2023, India formed a high-level internal panel to examine the US allegations. At the time, New Delhi emphasized that it was taking the accusations seriously while rejecting claims of state-sponsored wrongdoing.
The Indian government’s response to Gupta’s guilty plea and the latest developments in the case is currently awaited.