Indian national pleads guilty in US to plot to assassinate Sikh activist in New York

WEB DESK: An Indian national has pleaded guilty in the United States to plotting the assassination of a US citizen in New York in what prosecutors described as a foiled murder-for-hire scheme linked to transnational repression.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Friday that Nikhil Gupta, also known as “Nick”, admitted to three counts in a second superseding indictment: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Gupta, 54, entered his plea before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn and is scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Victor Marrero on May 29, 2026.

Alleged conspiracy with Indian government employee

According to US prosecutors, Gupta conspired in 2023 with others in India and elsewhere, including Vikash Yadav, described in court documents as an employee of the Indian government, to assassinate a US-based attorney and political activist of Indian origin.

The intended target, a US citizen, is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads an organisation advocating for the secession of Punjab and the creation of a sovereign Sikh state called Khalistan. The Indian government has banned both the activist and the separatist group.

Prosecutors alleged that Yadav was employed by India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and that he recruited Gupta to orchestrate the killing on American soil.

Undercover operation thwarted alleged murder-for-hire

Court documents state that in May 2023, Gupta contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate to help hire a hitman in New York. The individual was in fact a confidential source working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who introduced Gupta to a purported hitman that was actually an undercover DEA officer.

Authorities said Yadav agreed to pay $100,000 for the killing, with $15,000 delivered in cash in June 2023 as an advance payment. Prosecutors further alleged that Yadav provided Gupta with the intended victim’s home address, phone numbers and details of daily routines, which were then passed on to the undercover officer.

Gupta allegedly provided regular updates, including surveillance photographs, and instructed that the killing not take place around the time of the Indian prime minister’s official state visit to the United States in June 2023.

Reference to killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar

The case unfolded days after the June 18, 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar, an associate of the intended New York target and a prominent Sikh separatist leader, was also a critic of the Indian government.

According to prosecutors, Gupta told the undercover officer after Nijjar’s death that Nijjar “was also the target” and added that there was “now no need to wait” to carry out the New York killing.

Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and extradited to the United States in June 2024.

US Attorney Jay Clayton said Gupta “plotted to assassinate a US citizen in New York City” and would face justice. Senior officials from the FBI and DEA said the case underscored the US government’s commitment to protecting citizens from foreign-directed violence.

Gupta faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for murder-for-hire, 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The final sentence will be determined by the court.