Several Indian Government employees are accused of orchestrating murder-for-hire plot on well-known U.S. Sikh leader.
In a shocking revelation today, the Southern District of New York unsealed a superseding indictment exposing a murder-for-hire conspiracy allegedly masterminded by an Indian government employee. The accused, 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta, a Hindu Extremist according to confidential sources, also known as Nick, was arrested by Czech authorities on June 30, 2023, in compliance with the extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.
According to the Department of Justice, court documents detail a sinister plot directed earlier this year by an Indian government employee (referred to as CC-1), working in collaboration with Gupta and others, to assassinate a U.S. citizen residing in New York City. The intended victim, an attorney and political activist of Indian origin, leads a U.S.-based organization advocating for the secession of Punjab, a northern Indian state with a significant Sikh population.
Gupta, who is associated with CC-1, has allegedly confessed to engaging in international narcotics and weapons trafficking during his communications with CC-1 and others. CC-1, identified as a Senior Field Officer with ties to Indian intelligence, reportedly directed the assassination plot from India.
According to the indictment, CC-1 recruited Gupta in May 2023 to coordinate the assassination of the victim, a vocal critic of Hindutva and the Indian government pushing for the establishment of Khalistan, a Sikh sovereign state. In a disturbing turn of events, CC-1 enlisted the help of an undercover U.S. law enforcement officer, to whom Gupta agreed to pay $100,000 for carrying out the murder.
The Department of Justice further states that the indictment reveals that Gupta, at CC-1’s direction, provided personal information about the victim, including his New York City address and daily routines. Gupta reportedly forwarded surveillance photographs of the victim to CC-1 and instructed the undercover officer to expedite the murder while avoiding specific dates coinciding with high-level engagements between U.S. and Indian government officials.
In a chilling development, the court documents also mention the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an associate of the victim, outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada, on June 18. Gupta allegedly informed the undercover officer that Nijjar was also a target, stating, “we have so many targets.” Following Nijjar’s murder, CC-1 emphasized the urgency of the victim’s assassination, labeling it a priority.
Nikhil Gupta now faces charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, each carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. The investigation, led by the DEA’s New York Division and the FBI’s New York Field Office’s Counterintelligence Division, received support from various international agencies, including the DEA’s Special Operations Division, DEA’s Vienna Country Office, FBI’s Prague Country Office, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and Czech Republic’s National Drug Headquarters.
As with any indictment, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This is a developing story, check back later for updates.