Accused Nikhil Gupta pleads guilty in U.S. court over murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Pannun

Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh separatist in New York City, ​pleaded guilty on Friday (February 13, 2026) to ⁠three criminal charges, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said.

Gupta, ‌54, pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and ‌conspiracy to commit money laundering, which ‌carry ⁠a maximum combined sentence ⁠of 40 years in prison, the spokesperson said.

He entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge ​Sarah Netburn in ‌Manhattan federal court.

Lawyers for Gupta were not immediately available for comment.

Gupta has been jailed in Brooklyn since his ‌June 2024 extradition to the United ​States from the Czech Republic, where he had been arrested ⁠a year earlier. He had pleaded not guilty immediately after his extradition.

U.S. ‌prosecutors accused Gupta of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. resident and dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

Nikhil Gupta, accused of murder for hire plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, extradited to U.S.

India’s government has dissociated itself ​from any plot against Pannun, saying it was against government policy.

The ⁠discovery of alleged assassination plots against ⁠Sikh separatists in the United States and Canada has tested ‌relations with India, which has also denied involvement in such plots.