Web Desk: A man US prosecutors describe as an associate of India’s intelligence service Raw has admitted guilt in a foiled murder-for-hire plot aimed at a Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in New York, marking the first conviction tied to allegations of a wider campaign against overseas dissidents.
Nikhil Gupta, 54, pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in Manhattan to murder-for-hire and money-laundering conspiracy charges. The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines could result in a prison term of up to 24 years.
In court filings, U.S. officials characterized Gupta as an associate of India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. They did not specify his nationality in documents related to the plea. The Indian government has previously denied involvement in any plots targeting separatist activists abroad.
Supporters of Sikh separatism attended the hearing and chanted slogans after proceedings concluded.
Authorities said the intended target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. citizen and legal adviser to Sikhs for Justice, which supports the creation of an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab state.
According to the indictment, an Indian government official identified as Vikash Yadav contacted Gupta in May 2023 and directed him to arrange Pannun’s killing. Prosecutors allege Gupta presented himself as someone with links to international narcotics and arms traffickers while discussing the plan.
Court papers state that Gupta later approached a person he believed could help him hire a hitman in New York. That individual was cooperating with U.S. law enforcement and introduced Gupta to an undercover officer posing as a contract killer affiliated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Yadav has been charged in the Southern District of New York with murder-for-hire and conspiracy offenses. He remains at large.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the United States the following year to face prosecution.
The case unfolded during a period when President Joe Biden’s administration was expanding strategic and economic ties with India, including hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit in Washington in mid-2023. Prosecutors have said a senior Indian official authorized the alleged operation during that time. U.S. officials have also stated they found no evidence that Modi was aware of the plan.
The guilty plea represents the first completed prosecution arising from U.S. and Canadian allegations that Indian operatives targeted Sikh separatists abroad accusations New Delhi has strongly rejected.
