WASHINGTON: An Indian national has pleaded guilty in a US federal court to plotting the assassination of Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, the US Justice Department announced on Friday.
Prosecutors said 54-year-old Nikhil Gupta admitted to charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the failed plot.
Gupta entered his plea on February 13 before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The court has scheduled his sentencing for May 29.
The Justice Department said Gupta acted under the direction of Vikash Yadav, an Indian government employee who worked for India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Authorities said Yadav remains at large.
According to prosecutors, Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to arrange the killing of Pannun, a US citizen and lawyer who advocates for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Gupta contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate, but that person was cooperating with US law enforcement. The associate introduced Gupta to an undercover officer posing as a hitman.
Prosecutors said the conspirators agreed on a $100,000 payment for the killing and paid approximately $15,000 in advance. Law enforcement agencies disrupted the plot before any attack occurred.
In a statement, US Attorney Jay Clayton said Gupta believed he could target someone in the United States for exercising the right to free speech but would now face justice. An FBI official described the case as an instance of “transnational repression”.
The case has unfolded amid broader tensions between India and Western governments over alleged threats against Sikh separatists overseas.
Canada has also accused India of involvement in the 2023 killing of another Sikh leader outside a temple in British Columbia, an allegation that New Delhi has denied.
Authorities arrested Gupta in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and later extradited him to the United States.