Indian man pleads guilty to arranging assassination of Sikh separatist activist

MANHATTAN (CN) — A man recruited by the Indian government to coordinate a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun pleaded guilty in New York City federal court on Friday morning to murder-for-hire and conspiracy charges, carrying a potential sentence of 40 years in prison.

Nikhil Gupta, 54, entered guilty pleas before a Manhattan federal judge to three criminal charges of a superseding indictment that accused him of orchestrating the ultimately unsuccessful, $100,000 murder-for-hire of Pannun, a vocal critic of the Indian government.

Gupta pleaded guilty to one count of murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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

Gupta entered the guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. Senior U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero will impose Gupta’s sentence on May 29.

Extradited from the Czech Republic in 2024, his trial before Marrero, a Bill Clinton appointee, had been scheduled to start March 30.

According to federal prosecutors, Gupta worked with an unnamed security and intelligence employee of the Indian government to orchestrate the killing of Pannun, a U.S. citizen who has advocated for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, a religious minority in India. Czech authorities arrested Gupta in June 2025 under an extradition treaty with the U.S.

Gupta was recruited by the Indian government official in May 2023, prosecutors said, and at the official’s direction he contacted a hitman to murder Pannun in New York City. According to prosecutors, Gupta told the official he’d previously worked trafficking drugs and weapons.

The hitman, an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration officer, was offered $100,000 to murder the victim, according to prosecutors. Gupta reportedly arranged to pay the hitman $15,000 in cash as an advance payment for the assassination.

Prosecutors described the Indian government official providing Gupta personal information about Pannun — including his home address, phone numbers and details about his day-to-day conduct — which Gupta passed along to the hitman. Gupta sent the official regular updates about his progress on the assassination plot, including surveillance photos the hitman sent to him.

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