US Justice Department Files Charges over Foiled Plot to Assassinate Pannu

On 29 Nov, Federal prosecutor Damian Williams unsealed a superseding indictment alleging murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, aka Nick, 52, in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a separatist US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in New York City (See SDW  Vol. 1 Issue 11 Story 1). Czech authorities arrested Gupta on 30 Jun and handed him over to the US under the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic. The charges say, that in or around May 2023, an Indian government employee CC-1 and others recruited Gupta to execute the killing of the victim. At CC-1’s direction, through an intermediary, Gupta contacted a hitman who was an undercover US law enforcement officer. On 9 Jun, CC-1 and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash to the hitman as an advance payment for the murder. Gupta told the hitman to hold off the killing until 24 Jun. The timing coincides with India’s PM Modi’s state visit to the US. US President Joe Biden hosted PM Modi at a state dinner at the White House on 21 Jun and PM Modi addressed the US Congress on 23 Jun. The announcement of the plot has sent fear through the Sikh diaspora. Many Sikh Americans who do not support the Khalistan separatist cause worry they will inadvertently come into harm’s way. Arjun Sethi, a human rights lawyer, said the revelations raise serious questions about the nature of the US-India relations: ‘Why did Biden celebrate Modi with a state dinner and Congress honor him with a joint address while his government was conspiring to assassinate a Sikh American on US soil?’