Chandigarh, Feb 16 — Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who has pleaded guilty in the United States in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, told an undercover agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that Hardeep Singh Nijjar “was also a target”, according to US court documents.
Citing filings unsealed by the Department of Justice (DoJ), prosecutors said Gupta made the remark on or about June 19, 2023 — a day after Nijjar was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Surrey, British Columbia. “Nijjar was also a target,” Gupta allegedly told the undercover agent, adding, “We have so many targets.”
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was killed on June 18, 2023. India had earlier designated him a terrorist for alleged involvement in pro-Khalistan activities. The DoJ said Nijjar was an associate of Pannun, who heads the US-based outfit Sikhs for Justice, which is banned in India.
In its statement, the DoJ described Pannun as “a vocal critic of the Indian Government” who has publicly called for Punjab’s secession from India and the creation of a sovereign Sikh state, Khalistan.
US prosecutors further said that before Nijjar’s death, Gupta had instructed the undercover officer not to carry out the planned assassination of Pannun around the time of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington in June 2023.
However, following Nijjar’s killing — which occurred two days before the Prime Minister’s visit — Gupta allegedly indicated that “there was no longer a need to delay” the operation, the filings said.
The DoJ has alleged that Gupta acted in coordination with others in India and abroad, including co-accused Vikash Yadav, identified in the indictment as an employee of the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses the Research and Analysis Wing.
At Yadav’s direction, prosecutors claim, Gupta contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal intermediary to arrange a contract killing in New York City. That individual was, in fact, a confidential source for the DEA, who introduced Gupta to a supposed hitman — an undercover DEA officer.
According to US authorities, Yadav agreed, through Gupta, to pay $100,000 for the assassination, with $15,000 allegedly delivered in cash in June 2023 as an advance. Investigators say Gupta shared personal details of the intended target, including the home address, phone numbers, daily movements, and surveillance photographs, along with periodic updates.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, extradited to the United States, and has since entered a guilty plea in the case.