Pannun Murder Plot Accused Nikhil Gupta Pleads Guilty in US Court
NEW DELHI, Feb 13: The controversial accused Nikhil Gupta on Friday pleaded guilty in a US court for the unsuccessful murder plot of Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Gupta was accused of plotting to kill Pannun on the orders of the Indian government and had earlier pleaded not guilty in a US federal court in June 2024.
On Friday, Gupta, 54, pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said. Following the foiled assassination attempt, Gupta was arrested in June 2023 in the Czech Republic and extradited to the US.
While the US prosecutors accused Gupta of orchestrating to assassinate Pannun with an Indian government official, New Delhi has distanced itself from the plot saying it was against government policy. Pannun, an India-designated terrorist, is a US resident and dual US-Canadian citizen and the alleged murder plot has previously strained India’s ties with the United States and Canada.
Prosecutors had alleged that accused Gupta worked with the Indian government to target Sikh separatist leaders abroad which also included the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Western Canada in June 2023. The US claimed that Gupta had hired an assassin to kill Pannun, on the orders of Vikash Yadav, an officer with India’s external intelligence agency who is also charged in the case.
Gupta has been held without bail since his arrival in the US. He faces decades in prison, while Yadav remains in India.
(Manas Dasgupta)
