Indian National Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot Targeting Sikh Activist in New York City
US federal prosecutors have charged an Indian national in an alleged murder-for-hire plot to assassinate a Sikh political activist in New York City, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Nikhil Gupta, 52, is accused of working with an unnamed Indian official to set up a meeting with an undercover officer he believed to be a hitman to target the victim, a US citizen who is described as an attorney and vocal critic of the Indian government. The Indian official agreed to pay $100,000 to the undercover officer for the arranged murder.
US officials familiar with the case told CNN the victim is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who runs a New York-based outfit called “Sikhs for Justice,” which has held referendums for a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. Authorities allege that Gupta worked with an Indian government official, who described himself as a “senior field officer” with intelligence responsibilities and “directed the assassination plot from India.”
Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. He was arrested in June of this year in the Czech Republic and held pursuant to a bilateral extradition treaty, authorities said.
In a statement, Pannun addressed the attempt on his life, calling it a “threat to freedom of speech and democracy.” He also suggested that the recent assassination of another Sikh separatist on Canadian soil complicates relations between the US and India.
Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada in June, and the Canadian government said it had credible information linking India to the murder. The Indian government has denied the allegation.
Nijjar and Pannun were associates, US prosecutors say, as they were both leaders of the Sikh separatist movement. Gupta allegedly told a supposed hitman that Nijjar “was also the target” just one day after Nijjar was killed.
The indictment reveals that an Indian government official recruited Gupta to “orchestrate” the assassination. The official allegedly provided Gupta with Pannun’s home address, phone numbers, and details on his daily activities. Gupta asked the supposed hitman to carry out the murder “as soon as possible,” but instructed the hitman “not to commit the murder around the time of anticipated engagements scheduled to occur in the ensuing weeks between high-level U.S. and Indian government officials,” according to court documents.
CNN is reaching out to the Indian government for a response. This story has been updated with additional details and a correction regarding the arrangement to pay $100,000 between an Indian official and an undercover officer.