US federal prosecutors unveiled charges against Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national, for his alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot targeting Sikh political activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City.
The indictment, unsealed on November 29, revealed that Gupta collaborated with an unnamed Indian official to orchestrate a meeting with an undercover officer, whom he believed to be a hired hitman. The Indian official agreed to pay $100,000 to the undercover officer for the planned assassination, the indictment disclosed.
Gupta allegedly worked under the direction of an Indian government official with intelligence responsibilities, who oversaw the assassination plot from India.
US officials familiar with the case revealed that Gupta was apprehended in June in the Czech Republic and is facing charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?
The target, described as a vocal critic of the Indian government and an attorney, was identified as Pannun, the founder of “Sikhs for Justice,” an organization advocating for a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan.
Pannun, labeled a terrorist by India, condemned the attempt on his life, stating it posed a threat to freedom of speech and democracy. He linked this incident, along with the recent murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, to India’s alleged transnational terrorism, complicating relations between the US and India.
“The attempt on my life on American Soil is the blatant case of India’s transnational terrorism which has become a challenge to America’s sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and democracy,” Pannun said.
The indictment outlined Gupta’s urgent instructions to the hitman to expedite the assassination while avoiding the time of anticipated engagements between high-level US and Indian government officials.
Safety of Sikh Activists Questioned in US and Canada
As investigations unfold, this disturbing case raises serious concerns about the safety of Sikh activists and the potential diplomatic fallout between the US and India.
In a related incident, Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada in June, with the Canadian government suggesting India’s involvement, an allegation denied by Indian authorities. The Indian government official who provided Gupta with Pannun’s details had also sent him a video of Nijjar’s body after the murder.
The connection between Nijjar and Pannun, both leaders in the Sikh separatist movement, added another layer to the case. Gupta allegedly informed a supposed hitman, just one day after Nijjar’s murder, that Nijjar “was also the target” and that there were “so many targets.”
Indictment strengthens Trudeau’s stance
The unsealed US indictment reinforced Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s stance that heightened tensions in diplomatic relations between Canada and India. Trudeau previously faced limited global support after he informed Canada’s parliament about “credible allegations” linking India to the assassination of Nijjar.
“The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we’ve been saying from the beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously”, Trudeau said on Wednesday.
The accusation of a major power orchestrating an extraterritorial assassination had largely left the prime minister standing alone.