Indian man pleads guilty in murder-for-hire case of US-based Sikh separatist
Prosecutors allege that Nikhil Gupta was directed by an Indian government official to kill the founder of Sikhs for Justice
An Indian citizen has pleaded guilty to plotting the murder of a US-based Sikh separatist, the US Office of the Southern District of New York said on Friday.
Nikhil Gupta admitted to paying $15,000 to a person he believed was a hitman to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).
New Delhi considers SFJ, which advocates for the secession of the Indian state of Punjab to form an independent country called Khalistan, to be a “terrorist” group.
“Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a US citizen in New York City,” US attorney Jay Clayton said on Friday. “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.”
Gupta was arrested in June 2023 in the Czech Republic and later extradited to the US.
He pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering charges, all of which carry a combined maximum prison sentence of 40 years.
Indian National Pleads Guilty in US to Failed Murder Plot Against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) February 13, 2026
Nikhil Gupta, 54, has pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to three charges tied to a plot to kill the SFJ leader.
Gupta was arrested in June 2023 in the Czech Republic and later… pic.twitter.com/5c7wwsuX1s
US prosecutors claim that Gupta was directed by an Indian government official to carry out the plot to murder Pannun, who regularly makes violent threats to India on social media. India has denied any role in the alleged plot to murder the separatist.
Pannun’s SFJ is among several Khalistan outfits banned by the Indian government that primarily operate outside India in countries with significant Sikh diasporas.