New Delhi: Nikhil Gupta, the Indian citizen at the centre of the foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US has entered a plea of not guilty and his case will move forward to trial on 17 January, 2025, ThePrint has learnt.
Gupta, 53, was arrested by Czech authorities on 30 June last year after a request from the US. In November, Gupta was named in an indictment by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a district court in New York as the individual who tried to get in touch with a purported hitman to assassinate Pannun—an India-designated terrorist—sometime in June 2023.
On 18 October, 2024 Gupta was arraigned before Justice Victor Marrero, a senior judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was arraigned on the superseding indictment unsealed by the DOJ last week.
According to the superseding indictment, Gupta was contacted by Vikash Yadav—the former Indian Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) agent—to allegedly carry out the assassination of Pannun. Gupta then got in touch with a contact, who was actually a confidential informant for the US authorities.
The confidential informant referred Gupta to a purported hitman, who was actually an undercover official from US law enforcement. Sometime in June last year, Gupta, under the orders of Yadav, allegedly established a contract worth $1,00,000 for the hit on Pannun. An advance of $15,000 exchanged hands.
Gupta had informed the purported hitman to delay the assassination until after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the US, which occurred between 21 June and 23 June in 2023. However, days before Modi was to arrive in the US, another India-designated terrorist—Hardeep Singh Nijjar—was gunned down outside a gurudwara in Canada.
Following Nijjar’s killing, according to the superseding indictment, Gupta pushed the timelines of the assassination forward. However, on 30 June, 2023, Gupta left India for Prague, Czechia, where he was immediately detained on arrival, after which the US sought his extradition. Gupta was finally extradited to the US on 14 June, 2024, as reported by ThePrint earlier.
Given the evidence shared by US authorities, India set up a high-level inquiry committee on 18 November, 2023. Two members of the committee travelled to the US earlier last week to continue their investigations.
Meanwhile, as previously reported by ThePrint, Yadav, the R&AW official, was sent back to his parent organisation, the Central Reserve Police Force, before being dismissed from government service.
For nine years, Yadav fought for his permanent appointment to R&AW and his job at India’s premier external intelligence agency was confirmed only in October 2023, as reported by ThePrint. His permanent appointment was granted two months after US officials first brought up the plot with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
In Nijjar’s case, New Delhi has maintained that not a “shred of evidence” has been shared by Canada with India, and therefore, no investigations have occurred till date. Ottawa’s allegations have led to a diplomatic chill with New Delhi.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also read: Key closed-door legal ‘conference’ to set stage for trial in Pannun murder-for-hire case in US