Murder-for-hire charges have been filed against Indian national Nikhil Gupta in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City.
Around May of this year, an Indian government official who was working together with others in India and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate an attorney and political activist who is a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, according to a Wednesday press release issued by the Southern District of New York. The attorney — whom the document refers to as “the Victim” — resides in New York City, where he is a vocal critic of the current Indian government.
The activist also leads a U.S.-based organization that advocates an independent state for the Sikhs, an ethno-religious minority group in India. The Sikh population is largely centered in India’s northwestern state of Punjab. The would-be victim has publicly called for the secession of Punjab and the establishment of a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan. The Indian government has banned the victim and his organization from entering the country.
The unnamed Indian government employee directing the plot, who has described himself as a “Senior Field Officer” with responsibilities in “Security Management” and “Intelligence,” recruited Nikhiil Gupta, 52, of India to assassinate the Victim.
At the direction of the unnamed “Senior Field Officer,” Gupta contacted an individual whom he believed to be a criminal associate for assistance in contracting a hitman. The individual contacted was in fact a confidential source working with the DEA. The source introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was actually an undercover officer with the DEA. In dealings brokered by Gupta, the Indian “Senior Field Officer” agreed to pay the undercover officer $100,000 to assassinate the activist.
Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Any sentencing will be determined by a judge after trial.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Murder for hire is a crime out of a movie, but the plot in this case was all too real. The excellent teamwork of the law enforcement partners in this case exposed this brazen conspiracy and is why Nikhil Gupta finds himself in jail waiting to answer to these charges.”
Several entities cooperated in the course of the investigation, including the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the New York City Police Department, the Justice Department’s National Security Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said: “As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India . . . We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad.”
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said: “The dedicated law enforcement agents and prosecutors in this case foiled and exposed a dangerous plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil.”
Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, 2023, in accordance with a bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.