- Gupta plots Sikh’s US murder
- US charges Indian official
- Diplomatic tensions, Canada reacts
The Indian government official, according to the US Department of Justice, recruited Nikhil Gupta to plot the assassination of the Sikh separatist.
US justice chiefs assert that an Indian government official oversaw an unsuccessful conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York City.
They assert that the security and intelligence employee of the Indian government enlisted the services of Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, to orchestrate the murder of a United States citizen who had espoused the cause of a Sikh sovereign state in northern India.
It follows a diplomatic dispute triggered by the Canadian government’s allegation that India might have been involved in the June murder in British Columbia of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Charges and Indictment Details
Officials from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Gupta, 52, on Wednesday. They allege that Gupta collaborated with an Indian government employee on the alleged conspiracy to murder the American citizen.
An indictment against Gupta stated that the unidentified Indian government official, CC-1, had self-identified as a “senior field officer” with “security management” and “intelligence” responsibilities.
Furthermore, he asserts that he served in the Central Reserve Police Force of India and received training in “weapons” and “battle craft.”
According to the prosecution, an Indian official allegedly hired Gupta in May 2023 to coordinate the assassination. Gupta allegedly contacted an individual he suspected of being a criminal associate for assistance locating a hitman.
However, according to prosecutors, the associate was, in fact, a Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent.
As stated in the indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, Gupta deposited $15,000 (£12,000) in advance through an associate in exchange for a $100,000 (£79,000) commission about the homicide.
The court documents did not specify the assassin’s target; however, the Associated Press identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist residing in the United States who is deemed a terrorist by the Indian government.
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According to the indictment, the Indian government employee provided Gupta with Pannun’s residential address, phone numbers, and information regarding his daily activities, including surveillance photographs, in June. Gupta subsequently transmitted this information to the covert DEA agent.
Gupta instructed the undercover agent to execute the assassination without delay but cautioned him against acting during meetings between Indian and American officials, according to the report.
The defendant conspired from India to assassinate a US citizen of Indian descent who had publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India, in New York City, according to US Attorney Damian Williams.
Gupta’s Alleged Actions and Arrest
Czech authorities arrested Gupta in June on two counts of murder-for-hire and murder-for-hire conspiracy. He is currently in custody pending extradition.
According to the news organisation Reuters, he was not reachable for comment.
The charges follow last week’s statement by an administration official of President Joe Biden that authorities had foiled a conspiracy to murder Pannun.
Additionally, the official cautioned India regarding apprehensions that the New Delhi government might have been privy to the plot.
On Wednesday, the Indian foreign ministry announced that it would conduct a formal investigation into the concerns raised by the United States.
“Since they also affect our national security interests, India takes such inputs seriously,” the ministry said, promising to “take appropriate follow-up action” in response to the findings.
The Indian government has lodged concerns regarding the activities of Sikh separatist organisations beyond its borders, such as in the United States and Canada.
These organizations have sustained the Khalistan movement, which demanded the formation of an independent Sikh state from India.
India, which blamed Sikh militants for the 1985 explosion of an Air India Boeing 747 en route from Canada to India, resulting in the deaths of all 329 individuals on board, regards the movement as a security threat.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada stated in October that “credible allegations” implicated India in the assassination of Najjar.
According to Reuters, the Indian government accused Nijjar in 2020 of leading a militant group advocating for Sikh independence. Additionally, New Delhi claims that a “terrorist organization” affiliated Nijjar.
On June 18th, someone fatally shot 45-year-old Najjar near a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia.
India dismissed as “absurd” Canadian diplomats’ claims of involvement in the death of Najjar and threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity in response to Mr Trudeau’s remarks.
Canada’s Previous Allegations and Retaliation
In retaliation, Canada dispatched 41 of its 62 diplomats to India. Regarding the affair, it also expelled an Indian diplomat from Ottawa.
In light of the recent allegations against Gupta, Mr Trudeau has stated that the investigation conducted by the United States emphasises the critical nature of India regarding claims made by Canada that are comparable.
To counter China, the White House has prioritised improving relations with India. While it declined to comment explicitly on the charges against Gupta, it stated that administration officials acted swiftly.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, Adrienne Watson, issued the following statement: Upon receiving information that the defendant, in this case, had credibly claimed to have been instructed by an individual suspected of being an employee of the Indian government to orchestrate the murder, we immediately initiated direct communications with the highest-ranking officials of the Indian government to convey our grave concern.
