Washington, Feb 14 (NationPress) Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta has confessed to his involvement in a plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader residing in the United States, specifically in New York City. This case has attracted notable diplomatic scrutiny between India and the United States, as reported by the Department of Justice.

Known as “Nick,” Gupta acknowledged his guilt to three serious charges: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, during a court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District of New York. His sentencing is set for May 29, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

As per the U.S. Department of Justice, Gupta was acting “under the direction and coordination of an employee of the Indian government” to facilitate the assassination of a New York-based attorney and political activist advocating for Khalistan, a proposed Sikh sovereign state in Punjab.

The indictment suggests that the co-defendant, Vikash Yadav, was affiliated with India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton remarked, “Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City. He believed he could commit murder from abroad without facing repercussions, merely for someone exercising their American right to free speech. He was mistaken, and justice will prevail.”

The intended target, detailed in court documents as a U.S. citizen of Indian descent, leads an organization in the U.S. that advocates for the independence of Punjab and the establishment of Khalistan, a group which the Indian government has prohibited within its borders.

Prosecutors noted that Yadav enlisted Gupta in May 2023 to plan the assassination. Gupta reached out to a confidential source associated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who connected him with an undercover officer feigning as a hitman.

Federal prosecutors accused Yadav of pledging $100,000 for the assassination, with an initial payment of $15,000 made in New York in June 2023. Gupta allegedly provided the undercover officer with the victim's home address, phone numbers, and surveillance information.

The Justice Department also indicated that Gupta advised the undercover operative to postpone the assassination attempt during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to the United States in June 2023.

Just two days prior to that visit, Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed outside a temple in British Columbia, Canada. Court documents revealed that Gupta told the undercover officer the day following Nijjar’s death that Nijjar “was also the target” and mentioned “we have so many targets.”

Gupta, aged 54, was apprehended in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and subsequently extradited to the United States.

The charges carry substantial maximum penalties of 10 years each for murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The actual sentencing will be determined by the court based on federal guidelines.

This guilty plea circumvents what would have been a closely monitored trial in Manhattan federal court, involving serious allegations of foreign-directed assassination attempts on U.S. soil.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 29, 2026.