NEW YORK, NY – An Indian national who admitted working with a government official in India to orchestrate the assassination of a U.S. citizen on American soil pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday, marking one of the most alarming cases of foreign-directed transnational repression ever prosecuted in the United States.
Nikhil Gupta, 54, known as “Nick,” pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on May 29, where he faces up to 40 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Gupta coordinated with an Indian government employee, identified as Vikash Yadav, to arrange the killing of a U.S.-based Sikh separatist leader and lawyer who has been critical of the Indian government. The victim, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, leads an organization advocating for the creation of Khalistan—a proposed independent Sikh state in India’s Punjab region.
Gupta, who described himself in messages as an international narcotics and weapons trafficker, allegedly worked at Yadav’s direction to hire a contract killer for the job. Unbeknownst to him, the “hitman” he contacted was an undercover DEA officer. Yadav agreed to pay the undercover agent $100,000, and $15,000 in cash was delivered as a down payment before the plot was uncovered.
Murder-for-hire plot tied to Indian official
According to court records, Yadav, who worked in India’s Cabinet Secretariat—the department overseeing the country’s foreign intelligence agency—provided Gupta with the target’s home address, phone numbers, and daily routines. Gupta relayed surveillance photos and updates, pressing the undercover operative to carry out the hit soon but advising against timing it near the Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to Washington in June 2023.
Days before that visit, gunmen murdered Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada who was an associate of the intended U.S. target. After Nijjar’s killing, Gupta told the undercover agent there was “no need to wait” any longer to execute the U.S. plot.
- Nikhil Gupta admitted plotting the murder-for-hire of a Sikh activist
- Worked under the direction of Indian government employee Vikash Yadav
- Arrested in Czech Republic, extradited to the U.S. to face prosecution
Gupta was arrested on June 30, 2023, in the Czech Republic and later extradited to New York. Federal officials said the case underscores the reach of foreign governments attempting to silence critics abroad and the determination of U.S. agencies to counter such threats.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Gupta “thought that from outside this country he could kill someone in it without consequence, simply for exercising their American right to free speech.” FBI and DEA leaders added that the operation highlights the joint efforts of U.S. law enforcement to stop politically motivated violence targeting citizens on American soil.
Global warning issued over foreign-directed plots on U.S. soil
