Indian National Nikhil Gupta Pleads Guilty in New York Murder Acting at the Behest of Indian Government

Moneylife Digital Team 14 February 2026

Life

Indian national Nikhil Gupta has pleaded guilty in the United States to plotting the assassination of a US citizen in New York City, allegedly acting at the direction of an Indian government employee. The guilty plea was entered on Friday before a federal court in Manhattan, marking a major development in a case US authority have described as an instance of transnational repression.

The case involves the targeting of a vocal critic of the Indian government and has drawn significant attention from US law enforcement agencies. Officials said the plot aimed to silence constitutionally protected free speech on American soil.

According to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Mr Gupta pleaded guilty to all three counts in the second superseding indictment murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The announcement was made by US attorney Jay Clayton along with senior officials from the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) and the drug enforcement administration (DEA). Mr Gupta is scheduled to be sentenced by judge Victor Marrero on 29 May 2026.

US prosecutors said Mr Gupta plotted to kill a US-based attorney and political activist of Indian origin who leads an organisation advocating for a separate Sikh homeland, Khalistan. The intended victim is a US citizen and a prominent critic of the Indian government.

Authorities noted that the activist heads a US-based Sikh separatist group that has been banned in India. Prosecutors said the alleged plot was meant to intimidate the individual for exercising free speech rights in the US.

Investigators alleged that in 2023, Mr Gupta worked with others in India and elsewhere, including co-defendant Vikash Yadav, an employee of the Indian government’s Cabinet secretariat. The cabinet secretariat houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.

At Mr Yadav’s direction, Mr Gupta allegedly sought to arrange a contract killing in New York City by contacting an individual he believed to be a criminal associate. That individual was, in fact, a confidential source working with the DEA.

The confidential source introduced Mr Gupta to a purported hitman who was actually an undercover DEA officer. Prosecutors said Mr Yadav agreed, through Mr Gupta, to pay US$100,000 for the murder, and an advance payment of US$15,000 in cash was delivered in June 2023. Gupta also allegedly shared detailed personal information about the intended victim and provided surveillance updates.

Court filings revealed that Mr Gupta instructed the undercover officer not to carry out the killing during the Indian prime minister’s official state visit to the US in June 2023. However, after the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada on 18 June 2023, Mr Gupta allegedly said there was 'now no need to wait' to execute the New York plot.

Mr Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on 30 June 2023 and later extradited to the US with the assistance of Czech authorities and multiple US agencies. He faces a maximum potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison across the three counts, with the final sentence to be determined by the court.

Comments

User

david.rasquinha

4 months ago

Zero sympathy for Gupta, he deserves what's coming to him. But the idiots in India who masterminded this juvenile plot need to be severely punished. Won't happen sadly.

vram2311

4 months ago

Very surprising that you have not named Gurpatwant Singh Pannun . He is being referenced as a messiah of free speech based in US . Also Indian Government has denied any involvement