Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in US assassination plot case​

Indian national Nikhil Gupta has pleaded guilty in a US federal court to participating in a plot to assassinate a U.S.-based Sikh separatist leader in New York City, in a case that has drawn significant diplomatic attention between India and the United States, the Department of Justice said.​

Gupta, also known as “Nick,” admitted guilt to three charges: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on May 29, 2026.​

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Gupta acted “at the direction and coordination of an Indian government employee” to arrange the killing of a New York-based attorney and political activist who advocates for the creation of Khalistan, a proposed Sikh sovereign state carved out of Punjab.​

The indictment alleges that the co-defendant, Vikash Yadav, was employed by India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses the country’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).​

“Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said. “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.”​

The intended victim, identified in court documents as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, leads a U.S.-based organisation that calls for the secession of Punjab and the establishment of Khalistan. The Indian government has banned both the individual and his organisation in India.​

According to prosecutors, Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. Gupta contacted a confidential source working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who introduced him to an undercover DEA officer posing as a contract killer.​

Federal prosecutors allege that Yadav agreed to pay $100,000 for the killing and that $15,000 in cash was delivered in New York as an advance payment in June 2023. Gupta allegedly passed along the victim’s home address, phone numbers, and surveillance details to the undercover officer.​

The Justice Department also stated that Gupta instructed the undercover officer not to carry out the killing during the Indian Prime Minister’s June 2023 state visit to the United States.​

Two days before that visit, Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a temple in British Columbia, Canada. According to court filings, Gupta told the undercover officer the day after Nijjar’s killing that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets.”​

Gupta, 54, was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and later extradited to the United States.​

The charges carry maximum statutory penalties of 10 years each for murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Actual sentencing will be determined by the court under federal guidelines.​

The guilty plea avoids what would have been a closely watched trial in Manhattan federal court involving allegations of foreign-directed assassination efforts on U.S. soil.​

Sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2026. ​

Picture Courtesy: IANS