'Message to foreign actors...': Who is Nikhil Gupta, Indian man who pleaded guilty to plotting to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in US?

54-year-old Nikhil Gupta, an Indian man, pleaded guilty to plotting to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani separatist leader and a US citizen. Gupta pleaded guilty to all three charges of murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. His sentencing will take place in May 2026.

In 2023, Gupta worked with others including Vikas Yadav to plot the killing of Pannun, whom US court documents identified as a vocal critic of the Indian government. "The Victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the Victim and his separatist organization from India," the department said.




Nikhil, also known as Nick, the department said, described himself as an international narcotics and weapons trafficker in electronic communication with Yadav whom the US authorities identify as a former employee of the Indian government. They said Yadav recruited Gupta to orchestrate the murder of Pannun which was later foiled. Gupta contacted a hitman but he was an undercover agent. Yadav agreed to pay $100,000 to murder the victim. The authorities said Gupta was provided with Pannun's personal information, home address, phone numbers, day-to-day activities etc. The plot unraveled and Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic and was extradited to the US.

Steer clear of the US and our people: US attorney

US attorney Jay Clayton said Nikhil Gupta was wrong in thinking that he could kill someone on US soil from outside the country without any consequence. “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. Our message to all nefarious foreign actors should be clear: steer clear of the United States and our people," Clayton said.