Guilty Plea in Pannun Plot Case Deepens Diplomatic Ripples for India
In a development with significant diplomatic overtones, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has confirmed that Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta has admitted guilt in the 2023 alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
His sentencing has been scheduled for May 29, 2026.
According to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, Gupta acted under the instructions of Vikash Yadav — described in court filings as being linked to India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the country’s external intelligence apparatus.
Yadav has been charged but remains at large.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not reacted to the latest US statement.
The confession, however, complicates New Delhi’s position, as it had earlier distanced itself from any such overseas operation, maintaining that such actions would violate official policy.
What the US alleges
Investigators say Gupta coordinated with associates in India and elsewhere to arrange the killing of a US-based political activist advocating the creation of a separate Sikh state, Khalistan. The activist is banned in India and has long been a vocal critic of the Indian government.
US authorities claim that:
- Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to organize the assassination.
- Gupta contacted a person he believed to be a criminal intermediary, who turned out to be a confidential informant working with the DEA.
- The informant introduced him to an undercover officer posing as a contract killer.
- A payment of $100,000 was allegedly agreed upon, with $15,000 delivered in cash as an advance.
- Personal details of the target — address, phone numbers, and daily routine — were shared to facilitate the attack.
Gupta reportedly urged the hitman to carry out the killing quickly but asked that it not occur during the Indian Prime Minister’s state visit to Washington in June 2023.
Link to the Nijjar killing
The DoJ statement also referenced the June 2023 murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Prosecutors allege that the day after Nijjar’s death, Gupta told the undercover officer that Nijjar had also been “a target,” and suggested the operation against the New York-based activist could proceed immediately.
The Nijjar case had already triggered a major diplomatic dispute between India and Canada.
Arrest and charges
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, and extradited to the United States in June 2024, where he initially pleaded not guilty. He has now admitted guilt to:
- murder-for-hire
- conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire
- conspiracy to commit money laundering
The combined charges carry potential prison terms ranging up to 20 years.
India’s earlier response
After the first indictment in November 2023, India called the allegations concerning and set up a high-level inquiry panel, reiterating that such acts were not government policy.
Following a subsequent indictment in October 2024, New Delhi denied that Vikash Yadav was a government employee and dismissed media reports linking the plot to Indian institutions as speculative.
Reports later indicated that Yadav had been arrested by Delhi Police in an unrelated case shortly after his name surfaced publicly and was released on bail in April 2024.
#NikhilGupta #PannunCase #IndiaUSRelations #Khalistan #InternationalLaw #Diplomacy #Geopolitics #NijjarCase
