Nikhil Gupta Pleads Guilty In Plot To Assassinate G.S.Pannun In NYC

Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty

Nikhil Gupta (54), an Indian national, pled 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 U.S. citizen in New York City. 

The announcement was made by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Roman Rozhavsky, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Terrance C. Cole, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James C. Barnacle, Jr.

Pannun – the intended target

The alleged target of the conspiracy to murder is believed to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen and an advocate for the Khalistan movement. Pannun has also been designated a terrorist by Indian authorities under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, with New Delhi accusing him of promoting violence and secessionist activities through calls for a separate Sikh state, Khalistan.

Gupta pled guilty on February 13 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn and is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on May 29, 2026. Collectively 

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

“Nikhil Gupta was a key participant in a murder-for-hire plot against a U.S. citizen, a murder that was prevented thanks to the actions of U.S. law enforcement,” said FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky.  DEA Administrator Terrance Cole added, “It is often a slippery and dangerous slope from drug trafficking to deadly violence, as demonstrated by the murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by international narcotics and weapons trafficker Nikhil Gupta. I commend the men and women of DEA’s New York Task Force Division for their outstanding investigative work successfully foiling Gupta’s assassination plot.”  

The plot

As stated by the US Attorney’s office, the plot was orchestrated by Vikash Yadav, then an employee of the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which also houses the Research and Analysis Wing. Gupta, a resident of India, described himself in communications with Yadav as an international trafficker of narcotics and weapons, and Yadav recruited him in May 2023.

 Unbeknownst to Gupta, the criminal associate he reached out to for help in securing a hit man happened to be a confidential source (CS) cooperating with the DEA. The CS then introduced Gupta to the purported hitman, who was actually a DEA Undercover (UC) Officer. A total of $100,000 was agreed upon for the assassination, and on June 9, 2023, $15,000 in cash was paid to the UC in New York City as a down payment. The duo also provided comprehensive information about the intended victim, including home address, personal phone numbers, surveillance information, and details of his daily routines. 

Gupta urged the UC to carry out the murder “as soon as possible”, but also explicitly instructed him to avoid the time during the Indian Prime Minister’s official state visit to the United States, which was slated to begin around June 20, 2023. The operational landscape changed on June 18, 2023, when Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an associate of Pannun and another leader in the Khalistan movement, was gunned down outside a Sikh temple in Canada. The murder of Nijjar stripped away the previous diplomatic caution, and Gupta then told the UC that there was “now no need to wait”. 

On June 30, 2023, GUPTA was arrested in the Czech Republic and subsequently extradited to the United States. For his crimes, Gupta may be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.