The United States Justice Department has issued an indictment against an Indian national, accusing him of participating in a thwarted plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani terrorist based in the U.S. The indictment alleges that an unnamed Indian government employee (referred to as CC-1) recruited Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman for the assassination, a plan intercepted by U.S. authorities. Gupta, now in custody, faces murder-for-hire charges with a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The official press release of the US government goes on to brand the Khalistani terrorist Pannun as a “victim” and hails him as an “outspoken critic of the Indian government”.
The indictment asserts that earlier this year, CC-1 and others, including Gupta, conspired to assassinate a U.S. citizen of Indian origin in New York City, identified as a political activist. A detailed indictment includes a photo of a monetary exchange between unidentified individuals. Gupta is characterized as an associate of CC-1, involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking, with CC-1 allegedly directing the plot from India.
“The victim is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethno-religious minority group in India. The victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the victim and his separatist organization in India.“, the US Justice Department press release says.
According to reports, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen emphasized the law enforcement’s success in foiling the dangerous plot, stating the Department of Justice’s commitment to pursuing accountability for such overseas lethal activities. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram noted the agency’s intervention when a foreign government employee recruited an international narcotics trafficker to commit murder on U.S. soil.
The Justice Department contends that CC-1 recruited Gupta around May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. Under CC-1’s direction, Gupta, unaware of the confidential source’s DEA affiliation, contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate. This purported hitman was, in reality, an undercover DEA officer, and Gupta offered him $100,000 for the assassination.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment coincides with the U.S. sharing information about the nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, and terrorists. India has established a high-level inquiry committee to address security concerns raised by the U.S., emphasizing the seriousness of such issues for national security. The Ministry of External Affairs disclosed that relevant departments are examining the matter, and a committee was formed on November 18, 2023, to investigate all aspects of the case.
The document also references the murder of another Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada. The Justice Department characterizes Nijjar as ‘another Sikh separatist leader,’ indicating that on June 20, the Indian government employee sent a news article about Pannun to Nikhil Gupta, stating, “It is a priority now.”
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