ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (APP):\u00a0An Indian national has admitted before a United States court his involvement in a plot to assassinate Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York on the direction of India\u2019s intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).<\/p>\n
Nikhil Gupta, 54, admitted to charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the failed plot, the foreign media reported.<\/p>\n
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American Sikh political activist and lawyer, is the leading figure of the Khalistan movement in the United States and is serving as the general counsel of the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).<\/p>\n
Indian national Gupta was part of the group working under the Indian government which targeted the overseas Sikh who advocated for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and later extradited to the United States.<\/p>\n
The US Justice Department said Gupta acted at the direction of an Indian government Vikash Yadav, who was employed by India\u2019s Cabinet Secretariat, which oversees the country\u2019s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).<\/p>\n
In May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to arrange the killing of Pannun, a US citizen and lawyer who advocates for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.<\/p>\n
He entered the plea on February 13 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29.<\/p>\n
In a statement, US Attorney Jay Clayton said Gupta believed he could target someone in the United States \u201csimply for exercising their American right to free speech,\u201d but would now face justice.<\/p>\n
The case reflects wider tensions between India and Western governments over alleged threats against Sikh separatists abroad.<\/p>\n
Separately, Canada has accused India of involvement in the 2023 killing of another Sikh leader outside a temple in British Columbia.<\/p>\n