Newly unsealed court documents have revealed a shocking scheme involving a senior Indian intelligence officer, who allegedly recruited a businessman to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Canadian pro-Khalistan activist. The files detail that Nikhil Gupta, suspected of drug and weapons trafficking, confessed to meeting an operative in New Delhi who tasked him with the assassination. Pannun, known for his leadership in the New York-based group Sikhs For Justice, has been vocal about advocating for Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh state in the Indian Punjab. The urgency of the situation heightened following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistan supporter, who was shot outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C., a murder that Canadian authorities have attributed to India’s involvement.
India has consistently expressed its concerns over Khalistan supporters operating within Canada, leading to escalating tensions with Ottawa. After the assassination of Nijjar, Prime Minister Mark Carney extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. However, this invitation became mired in controversy given the allegations against India, including accusations of violating Canadian sovereignty. The court documents shaded light on Gupta’s troubled return to India after a trip to Uzbekistan, which led to him being entangled in legal troubles back home, setting the stage for his alleged recruitment into the assassination plot.
According to the court filings, Gupta was contacted by a man named Amanat, who promised to help clear his name in exchange for assistance with a murder in New York City. Allegations from U.S. authorities suggest that Amanat is likely Vikash Yadav, an operative associated with the Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. Gupta was reportedly provided with Pannun’s personal information, including addresses and contact numbers, alongside a cash sum of $15,000 for the assassination. This led Gupta to agree to the plan, believing that Yadav’s assurances would free him from legal woes, which he claimed would result in no further interest in his case.
Gupta’s involvement in the conspiracy deepened when he allegedly hired a hitman he believed to be a Colombian drug supplier, but who was, in fact, an undercover source working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Records indicate that Gupta offered this source $100,000 for the killing of Pannun while also discussing further targets in Canada. However, the assassination plan was still in its preliminary stages when Nijjar was killed. The day after that event, Gupta reportedly showed an undercover agent a video of the murder, naming Nijjar as the intended victim he had previously referenced.
Documents reveal Gupta’s urgent intent to carry out Pannun’s murder, openly disregarding any potential risks to civilians or broader political consequences. He conveyed to an undercover agent that the assassination should transpire urgently and with little concern for collateral damage. Following this, he allegedly aimed to expand the plot to include further targets. Unfortunately for Gupta, his operation was disrupted when Czech police apprehended him at Prague airport, leading him to express a desire to cooperate with U.S. authorities immediately upon arrest.
Now extradited to the U.S., Gupta faces serious charges for his involvement in the assassination plot, with his legal team seeking the suppression of evidence and the dismissal of one count against him. In parallel, U.S. authorities issued an indictment against Yadav, the Indian intelligence officer involved in orchestrating the conspiracy, who currently remains at large. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have not disclosed details about the perpetrators of Nijjar’s murder but have indicated the involvement of Indian government agents. Meanwhile, eyewitness accounts of Gupta’s actions underscore the emerging trend of foreign states leveraging crime networks to target dissidents, reflecting an alarming increase in the exploitation of criminal organizations for politically motivated actions, as publicly decried by Pannun.
