NEW YORK – An Indian intelligence agent is alleged to have not only hired an Indian citizen to carry out murders across Pakistan, Nepal, and the United States but also promised to provide a substantial cache of weapons, including a “plane-load,” to execute the assassinations, according to documents filed in a US federal court.
The newly unsealed court filings detail additional charges against Nikhil Gupta, the alleged assassin, which now encompass money laundering, credit card fraud, drug and arms trafficking, and attempted murder in either Nepal or Pakistan. Prosecutors assert that the murder-for-hire scheme extended beyond New York, targeting individuals in other nations.
US government lawyers claim former Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer Vikash Yadav allegedly pledged to supply firearms and even facilitate clearance for an aircraft to transport weapons from India. This arsenal was reportedly intended for Gupta to sell to a purported trafficker, who would then assist him in hiring a hitman to target a prominent Sikh separatist residing in the United States.
WhatsApp messages cited in court show Yadav allegedly promising “assault rifles and pistols” on June 22, 2023, and offering to “arrange for the clearance of an airplane to transport the weapons from India.” Four days later, on June 26, Gupta reportedly enquired about the “toys,” a coded reference to firearms. Yadav’s alleged response indicated that the weapons would become available once the primary assassination was complete, prosecutors contend.
These communications, according to US prosecutors, demonstrate Yadav’s alleged support was directly contingent on the assassination of the Sikh separatist, linking the arms offer inextricably to the murder plot. Yadav, who allegedly instructed Gupta in May 2023 to save his contact as “Aman,” conveyed that there were multiple targets, including one in New York (the primary victim), another in California, and at least one individual in Nepal or Pakistan.
Regarding the alleged plot in Nepal, prosecutors state Yadav provided Gupta with a target’s location for “hitmen,” whom Gupta referred to as “soldiers.” On May 8, Gupta reportedly informed Yadav that the men had “already arrived [in Nepal] and were looking for” the target. Yadav, emphasizing the urgency, urged Gupta to increase their payment and, in one message, allegedly instructed: “If they have really captured the target, they should kill him. Otherwise, we won’t get another chance.” Prosecutors argue the communications surrounding the Nepal task were “strikingly similar” to those concerning the New York target.
Gupta, also known as Nick, 53, was apprehended in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023. He was subsequently extradited to the United States under a bilateral treaty and arrived on June 14, facing murder-for-hire charges.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland affirmed that the extradition “makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens.” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco characterized the scheme as “a brazen attempt to silence a political activist for exercising a quintessential American right: his freedom of speech.” FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterated the bureau’s stance, stating it “will not tolerate attempts by foreign nationals, or anyone else, to repress constitutionally-protected freedoms in the United States.” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram lauded the international cooperation, particularly with the Czech Republic, in securing Gupta’s arrest.
Court documents further allege that Gupta conspired with an Indian government employee, identified as CC-1, who is a former RAW officer trained in battlecraft and weapons, to target a US-based Sikh separatist leader advocating for Khalistan. CC-1 allegedly directed the plot from India. Gupta, an Indian resident with prior involvement in narcotics and arms trafficking, attempted to contract a hitman – who was, in fact, a DEA undercover officer. CC-1 purportedly agreed to pay $100,000 for the murder, with an initial payment of $15,000 delivered in Manhattan in June 2023.
The plot included surveillance of the target, with Gupta transmitting photos and updates to CC-1. Gupta also reportedly instructed the undercover operative to avoid carrying out the assassination during upcoming US-India diplomatic engagements. On June 18, 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a figure associated with the target and a leader in the Sikh separatist movement, was murdered by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Gupta informed the undercover operative that Nijjar “was also the target,” further emphasizing multiple potential victims, before CC-1 later instructed him to prioritize the main US target.
Gupta faces charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, each carrying a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by the Southern District of New York, with ongoing investigations by the FBI and DEA. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with Czech authorities to facilitate Gupta’s arrest and extradition.
