Nikhil Gupta asked a hired person not to kill a Sikh separatist leader during India-US meetings.
Nikhil Gupta asked a hired person not to kill a Sikh separatist leader during India-US meetings.
An Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, faces charges in an alleged ‘murder-for-hire’ scheme aimed at assassinating a Sikh political activist in New York. The accused, along with an unnamed Indian official, sought an undercover officer, posing as a hitman, to target the victim, an attorney critical of the Indian government.
The plot involved a $100,000 payment agreement.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader, was reportedly the intended target. Gupta, under the official’s direction, reached out to who he believed was a hitman but was, in fact, working with law enforcement. The indictment details how the Indian official provided Pannun’s personal information and even sent a video after another individual’s murder, allegedly related to the case. Gupta urged the supposed hitman to act swiftly but cautioned against carrying out the murder during anticipated high-level engagements between US and Indian officials.