In a major development, Nikhil Gupta has pleaded guilty in a United States federal court to charges related to a conspiracy to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City.
According to court records, Nikhil Gupta admitted to three criminal charges during a hearing at a federal court in Manhattan. The plea was entered before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. A spokesperson for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office confirmed that the 54-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. He now faces a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
Gupta has been lodged in a Brooklyn jail since being extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic in June 2024. He was arrested in the Czech Republic a year earlier. After his extradition, Gupta had initially pleaded not guilty, claiming that the charges against him were false.
US prosecutors have alleged that Gupta conspired with an Indian official to orchestrate the assassination of Pannun in New York. However, the Government of India has denied any involvement in such a plot, stating that it is against official policy.
Pannun, a US resident and dual American-Canadian citizen, is the leader of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). He has been designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities and has long been accused of promoting violence against India and advocating for the creation of a separate Sikh state.
Gupta first came into the spotlight in November 2023 when he was charged with allegedly hiring a hitman to carry out the assassination of an Indian-American citizen in New York. His latest guilty plea marks a significant turn in the high-profile international case.
