CHANDIGARH: Indian national Nikhil Gupta will be sentenced on May 29 this year after pleading guilty in a US federal court to his role in an alleged murder-for-hire plot on American soil.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York described Gupta, also known as Nick, as an "international narcotics and weapons trafficker", accusing him of involvement in a plot to kill Khalistani separatist and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Gupta, 54, pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with efforts to kill Pannun in New York. He faces up to 40 years in prison across all three charges and will be sentenced by US District Judge Victor Marrero.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Gupta was recruited by Vikash Yadav, who is described in a second superseding indictment and other court documents as an employee of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses the country’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
In a detailed statement, the DOJ said that, according to the Second Superseding Indictment and statements made in court, "At Yadav’s direction", Gupta allegedly sought to "hire a hitman to orchestrate the assassination" of Pannun on US soil.
The individuals Gupta contacted were, however, working with US law enforcement. The plot was ultimately thwarted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The intended target is a US citizen of Indian origin who is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organisation advocating the secession of Punjab to establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan. India has banned the "victim" (Pannun) and his separatist organisation, the doccument reads.
Gupta, an Indian citizen and resident, described himself as an “international narcotics and weapons trafficker” in electronic communications with Yadav and others, according to court records.
'$100,000 for the killing'
According to the DOJ, in or about May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the assassination in the United States.
"At Yadav’s direction", Gupta contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate for assistance in hiring a hitman to kill the victim (Pannun) in New York City. The individual was, in fact, a confidential source (CS) working with the DEA. The CS introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was actually a DEA undercover officer (UC), it added.
Authorities say Yadav subsequnetly agreed, in dealings brokered by Gupta, to pay the UC $100,000 to murder the victim and arranged a $15,000 cash in advance on or about June 9, 2023.
In June 2023, Yadav also provided further personal information about the victim -- including the Victim’s home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with the Victim, and details about the Victim’s day-to-day conduct -- which Gupta forwarded to the UC, along with surveillance photographs, the court records showed.
Gupta also instructed that the killing be carried out as soon as possible, but told the UC not to act around the time of the Indian prime minister’s official state visit to the United States.
'We have so many targets'
On June 18, 2023, approximately two days before the Indian prime minister’s state visit to the United States, masked gunmen shot dead Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar was an associate of the victim and, like him, a leader of the Sikh separatist movement and a critic of the Indian government.
The following day, Gupta told the undercover officer that Nijjar "was also the target" and that "we have so many targets." He added that there was "now no need to wait" to kill the victim, according to court documents.
Notably, Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and later extradited to the United States.
US Attorney Jay Clayton said, "Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a US citizen in New York City. 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."
"It is often a slippery and dangerous slope from drug trafficking to deadly violence, as demonstrated by the murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by international narcotics and weapons trafficker Nikhil Gupta," said Terrance Cole, administrator of the DEA.
Notably, India has designated Pannun as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and has banned the Sikhs for Justice outfit.
The Indian government has also dissociated itself from any plot against Pannun, saying such actions would be against government policy and describing the case as a "rogue operation."
The Ministry of External Affairs has strongly dismissed the allegations, calling them "unwarranted" and "unsubstantiated."