Indian Accused in US Sikh Separatist Assassination Plot Pleads Guilty
From the Editor’s Desk
February 15, 2026
An Indian national, accused by U.S. prosecutors of working at the direction of an Indian government employee to arrange the assassination of Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court.
The accused, Nikhil Gupta, has remained in federal custody since his transfer to the United States in June 2024 after authorities arrested him in the Czech Republic the previous year. On February 13, 2026, the 54-year-old pleaded guilty to three federal counts, including murder for hire and related conspiracy charges, and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years at a hearing scheduled for May 29, according to The Telegraph.
Pannun, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, serves as general counsel for Sikhs for Justice. The North America-based Khalistani organization is outlawed in India, and the home ministry has designated Pannun as a “terrorist.”
U.S. authorities said Gupta acted at the direction of an Indian government employee in arranging the killing. Federal investigators described the case as an attempt to silence a critic of the Indian government on American soil.
Investigators said the recruitment began around May 2023 and involved Gupta contacting a person he believed to be a criminal associate who was actually a confidential source working with the U.S. Government’s Drug Enforcement Administration. The source introduced an undercover officer posing as a contract killer.
Authorities said an agreement was reached to pay 100,000 U.S. dollars for the assassination and that an associate delivered 15,000 dollars in cash in New York around June 9, 2023. Prosecutors also said Gupta instructed the undercover officer to delay the killing to avoid overlap with the Indian prime minister’s U.S. visit that month.
India set up a high-level inquiry in November 2023 after receiving information from U.S. authorities about the plot and later recommended legal action in January 2025 regarding activities affecting the security interests of both countries.
An indictment alleged Gupta had been recruited by Vikash Yadav, who reportedly worked within India’s cabinet secretariat linked to the country’s foreign intelligence service, an allegation India denied. Officials later said Yadav was no longer a government employee after U.S. charges were filed in October 2023.
Yadav previously served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and is believed to remain in India. Police in Delhi arrested him in an extortion case after a businessman’s complaint, and he later went underground after receiving bail.
Chief Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn accepted Gupta’s guilty plea during a hearing in the Southern District of New York attended by two Hindi interpreters, according to court records, The Wire reported. Prosecutors then outlined evidence they would have presented had the case proceeded to trial.
The evidence reportedly included testimony from a confidential source solicited to carry out the killing and testimony from an undercover officer who received payment in Manhattan. Prosecutors also cited Gupta’s post-arrest statement admitting participation in the murder for hire plot.
Authorities said digital records showed WhatsApp messages, voice notes, audio calls and video calls in which Gupta coordinated the plan, along with cellphone communications with a co-conspirator and financial indicators that the payment funds originated in India. Investigators also referred to a video that purported to show the 15,000 U.S. dollar advance payment delivered in New York.
The guilty plea removes the need for a trial in the case.
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