US prosecutors say Gupta acted at the direction of an Indian government official; India denies involvement in the alleged plot. The case follows the murder of another Khalistani leader in Canada, raising international tensions over alleged state-linked attacks on Sikh activists abroad.
BY PC Bureau
An Indian man accused of plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York City has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges in a Manhattan federal court, in a case that has drawn international attention and heightened diplomatic tensions between India and the United States.
Nikhil Gupta, 54, admitted to charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced on May 29, 2026.
The target of the alleged plot, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is an American citizen and prominent advocate for Khalistan, a long-sought independent Sikh homeland in India. While the Khalistan movement has limited political influence within India today, it continues to have active supporters among the Sikh diaspora. Indian authorities have labeled Pannun a terrorist, a claim he denies, insisting he is an activist working for Sikh rights.
According to court documents and US prosecutors, Gupta was allegedly recruited and directed by an Indian government official to carry out the assassination. Gupta met Vikash Yadav, an employee of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, in Delhi in May 2023 to discuss the plot. Yadav, who works in the same office that houses India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), has not been arrested in connection with the case.
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At Yadav’s direction, Gupta sought to hire a hitman in the United States. Prosecutors allege he provided personal information about Pannun, including his home address and phone numbers, to a man who he believed could carry out the killing. Unbeknownst to Gupta, the individual was a government informant who introduced him to a second person posing as a hitman, but in reality, an undercover DEA officer.
Prosecutors said Gupta negotiated a $100,000 payment for the assassination and arranged a $15,000 advance, while also instructing the purported hitman to delay the attack to avoid coinciding with an Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the US. Following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist leader in Canada in June 2023, Gupta allegedly suggested there was “now no need to wait,” and referred to Nijjar as “also a target,” adding, “we have so many targets.”
Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in U.S. murder-for-hire plot linked to direction from Indian govt employee
U.S. prosecutors say Indian national Nikhil Gupta admitted he acted at the direction of an Indian government employee to arrange the assassination of a U.S. citizen in NYC. He… pic.twitter.com/GoOC9oRWXk
— BigBreakingWire (@BigBreakingWire) February 14, 2026
The US Department of Justice stressed the gravity of Gupta’s actions. “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.”
Pannun reacted strongly to the guilty plea, telling the BBC that it “is judicial confirmation that India’s Modi government orchestrated a structured murder-for-hire assassination plot on American soil.”
The case comes amid heightened scrutiny over alleged foreign interference and targeted attacks against Sikh activists abroad. While India denies any involvement in both the Pannun plot and the murder of Nijjar, Canadian authorities have publicly linked New Delhi to Nijjar’s killing, escalating tensions with Ottawa.
Sikhs constitute about 2% of India’s population, and the Khalistan movement, though politically marginal today, has remained a rallying point for some diaspora groups advocating for Sikh autonomy. The Gupta case underscores the international dimensions of the issue and the challenges facing authorities in addressing politically motivated threats across borders.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the United States in 2024. His sentencing will likely continue to draw global attention, as governments weigh the broader implications of state-linked assassination plots on foreign soil.
