Who is Nikhil Gupta, who has pleaded guilty in the Pannun assassination plot?

An Indian has pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire plot of a US citizen. Nikhil Gupta, 54, has entered a guilty plea in the assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun, who holds dual US and Canadian citizenship, is a New York-based Sikh secessionist leader who advocates for the creation of Khalistan. He is the legal adviser and spokesperson for Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a proscribed organisation that seeks to achieve Khalistan through a referendum.

Indian authorities have designated Pannun as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and banned the SFJ in India.

“Nikhil Gupta a/k/a ‘Nick,’ an Indian national, pleaded guilty to all three counts contained in the Second Superseding Indictment, charging him with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with his efforts to murder a US citizen in New York City,” the indictment read.

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How a man named Nikhil Gupta ‘plotted to kill’ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

But who is Gupta? What happens next in the case?

Let’s take a closer look

Who is Gupta?

Not much is known about Gupta, aka Nick. He is an Indian national living in the US. According to The Indian Express, the indictment said that Gupta has admitted to being an international narcotics and weapons trafficker. Gupta was arrested in June 2023 by Czech authorities on the basis of a bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic. He has been held in Brooklyn since his extradition. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges.

As per The Times of India, the trial was set to go ahead on March 30. Authorities were set to enter into evidence wiretaps and electronic communications. The initial indictment claimed that Gupta was recruited by an Indian government employee – referred to as CC-1 – and was working with others in a plot to assassinate Pannun. The indictment referred to CC-1 as a “senior field officer” whose responsibilities include “intelligence”.

It claimed that CC-1 previously served in India’s Central Reserve Police Force and received “officer training” in “battle craft” and “weapons”. The US authorities claimed that CC-1 directed the assassination plot from India.

Nikhi Gupta has admitted to being an international narcotics and weapons trafficker. Reuters

A later indictment identified one Vikash Yadav as CC-1. It claimed that Yadav, who was in touch with Gupta, was at the time an employed by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). The indictment claimed that Yadav was “part of the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.”

“Gupta is a citizen and was a resident of India, and he has described himself as an international narcotics and weapons trafficker in electronic communications with Yadav and others. Yadav was employed by the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing,” the indictment read, as per The Indian Express.

The indictment stated that Yadav recruited Gupta in or around May 2023 to plan the assassination of Pannun. It claimed that Gupta, at the behest of Yadav, contacted a ‘criminal associate’. However, that ‘associate’ was in fact a confidential source working with US law enforcement.

The indictment states, “In or about 2023, Gupta worked together with others in India and elsewhere, including, as alleged in the Second Superseding Indictment, co-defendant Vikash Yadav, who was at relevant times an Indian government employee, to plot the assassination of an attorney and political activist (Pannun, called ‘the victim’).”

The associate then introduced Gupta to a “purported hitman”, who was in fact an “undercover US law enforcement officer”. Gupta and the ‘hitman’ struck a deal to assassinate Pannun for $100,000 (around Rs 90.56 lakh), including a cash advance of $15,000 (around Rs 13.58 lakh). Yadav then provided Gupta with personal details of the intended target, including Pannun’s home address, phone numbers and daily routine in New York City.

The indictment identified one Vikash Yadav as CC-1. It claimed that Yadav, who was in touch with Gupta, was at the time an employed by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Reuters

Yadav also ordered Gupta to keep him updated about the assassination plot. US authorities in the indictment claimed that Yadav had ordered Gupta not to carry out the assassination at the time when high-level engagements were ongoing between US and Indian officials.

The Justice Department has claimed that Gupta in turn told the ‘hitman’ to avoid carrying out the assassination during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in June 2023. After the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada later that month, Gupta allegedly said there was “now no need to wait”. The day after that, the indictment says, the Indian official, Yadav, sent Gupta a news article and a message about the New York target that said “it” was a “priority now”.

What happens next in the case?

Gupta, appearing before Federal Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan, pleaded guilty to three counts: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Gupta will be sentenced on May 29, 2026, by US District Judge Victor Marrero. He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison. However, Marrero will determine the quantum of punishment based on a number of factors.

This includes:

The US government has recommended between 21 and 24 years behind bars, which hints that Gupta may have provided some additional details about the operation to prosecutors.

Defendants often give up information in order to get a reduced sentence. Gupta may have shed more light on who instructed him, how the plot was financed and whether similar plans were discussed regarding other targets. This could widen the scope of the investigation and also have international repercussions if it sheds more light on alleged state involvement.

India has said that Yadav is no longer employed by the government. It said Yadav has ‘criminal links’ and that this was a rogue operation which was not sanctioned by the state.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun, who holds dual US and Canadian citizenship, is a New York-based Sikh secessionist leader who advocates for the creation of Khalistan.

“The US State Department informed us that the individual mentioned in the indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India,” the MEA said in a statement.

India in November 2023 had set up a high-level internal panel to examine US allegations related to the plot to assassinate Pannun. New Delhi has repeatedly distanced itself from any plot to assassinate Pannun, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) calling such allegations “unwarranted and unsubstantiated”.

Depending on what Gupta has revealed to authorities, additional indictments could follow. While extraditing foreign officials is extremely rare and politically sensitive, the US may still pursue charges symbol­bolically to signal that such actions will not go unanswered.

FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky was quoted as saying by the Justice Department, “Nikhil Gupta was a key participant in a murder-for-hire plot against a US citizen, a murder that was prevented thanks to the actions of US law enforcement.”

“The US citizen became a target of transnational repression solely for exercising their freedom of speech. The message from the FBI should be clear — no matter where you are located, if you try to harm our citizens, we will not stop until you are brought to justice,” Rozhavsky added.

However, India made no mention of whether it is willing to extradite Yadav. The Centre has not yet responded to news of Gupta’s guilty plea.

It remains to be seen what, if any, the diplomatic fallout from the case could be. The development comes at a critical time for India–US relations. Trump recently announced that the two countries had reached the long-awaited free trade agreement and that he was cutting the tariffs on India to 18 per cent.

With inputs from agencies