Who Is Nikhil Gupta, the Man Allegedly Accused of Killing Terrorists in Khalistan?

New Delhi: Indian national Nikhil Gupta is accused by US federal prosecutors of planning to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is a dual citizen of the US and Canada, on US soil by working with an Indian government official.

Gupta is alleged to have attempted to hire a hitman; however, the hitman was actually a US federal agent operating undercover. 52-year-old Gupta is being held in the Czech Republic in anticipation of being extradited to the United States. If found guilty, he could spend up to 20 years in prison.

The Storyline

A prominent Indian official, whose identity has not been disclosed, is accused of masterminding the plot to kill Pannun in New York City. The Financial Times claimed last week that US authorities had discovered the Pannun assassination plot, but it did not provide any identifying information.

The Indian official, identified as "CC-1" in an indictment, is accused by US federal prosecutors of masterminding a plot to kill "an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City" from India.

"In a series of phone calls and emails exchanged over encrypted applications beginning in or around early May 2023, CC-1 requested that Gupta set up the victim's murder in exchange for CC-1's help in getting a criminal case against Gupta in India dropped. Gupta consented to carry out the assassination plan. To further the plot, Gupta met CC-1 in person in New Delhi in addition to their electronic communications, according to the US Department of Justice indictment.

The Indian government employee allegedly wrote Gupta a message on May 6, 2023, while they were chatting on an encrypted messaging app, saying, "This is (CC-1)... Put my name in the CC-1 Alias field. Gupta put CC-1's phone number in an alias and saved it. Subsequently, another message was received by Gupta from CC-1, stating that they had a "target in New York" and another in "California," as per the indictment.

Following CC-1's orders, Gupta allegedly asked someone he thought was a criminal associate—but who was actually a confidential informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—for help hiring a hitman to kill Pannun in New York City.

Then, through a deal supposedly arranged by Gupta, CC-1 and the undercover agent agreed that CC-1 would pay $100,000 for the assassination. Gupta was detained in the Czech Republic in June 2023 at the US's request; the US had labelled him an "international narcotics trafficker".

In response

India declared that a high-level probe committee would conduct a thorough investigation into the US claim that a government official was masterminding a murderous scheme on American soil, referring to the claim as a "matter of concern".

At a press conference on Thursday, Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry, stated, "This is a matter of concern as regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official." "We have said and let me reiterate that this is also contrary to government policy."

The US has praised India's investigation efforts.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Thursday, "We look forward to seeing the results of the investigation that the (Indian) government announced today. That's good and appropriate." So you'll understand that I'm unable to provide a detailed comment. I can affirm that we take this very seriously. In recent weeks, several of us have brought up this issue directly with the Indian government."

MP From Canada Claims Khalistani Plan To Target Temple, Says "Step In, Take Action"

Ottawa: Citizen of India Chandra Arya, a member of parliament from Canada, allegedly recorded Pro Khalistani supporters in Surrey saying they wanted to cause trouble at the local Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir. On Monday, she shared the video.

Arya, a member of parliament from Canada, called on the government to intervene in addition to sharing the video on the social media platform X.

He wrote, "According to some reports, last week, supporters of Khalistan verbally assaulted a Sikh family outside a Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, BC. It seems that the same Khalistan group is now trying to stir up trouble at the Surrey Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir."

"The freedom of speech and expression is the reason behind all of these actions. Like a broken record, I beg Canadian authorities to intervene once more and take appropriate action," he continued.

Saying, "Hindu temples have been attacked many times during the last couple of years," Arya highlighted the fact that Hindu temples have continued to be targets for attacks over the years. Hindu Canadians are the target of hate crimes."

"Allowing these things to continue to be done openly and publicly is not acceptable," he stated.

Last week Khalistan supporters verbally abused a Sikh family outside a Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey BC according to some reports.
Now it appears the same Khalistan group want to create trouble at the Hindu Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey.
All these are being done in the name of… https://t.co/szTznICBo0

— Chandra Arya (@AryaCanada) November 20, 2023

In August of this year, extremists in Canada defaced a Hindu temple with posters supporting the Khalistan referendum.

The poster on the temple gate featured the image of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force and a designated terrorist, who was killed in June of this year.

The assault on a Hindu temple in Canada is not the first of its kind; radical Khalistanis have carried out several such acts. This year alone saw a number of incidents that were reported.

Graffiti disparaging India was written on the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in April of this year.

Anti-Indian graffiti was written on the Ram Mandir in Mississauga, Canada, earlier in February. The Indian Consulate General in Toronto denounced the vandalism of the mandir and asked Canadian authorities to look into the matter and take swift action against those who did it.

Anti-Indian graffiti was written on a Hindu temple in Brampton in January, which infuriated the Indian community.

The vandalism at the Gauri Shankar Mandir was denounced by the Indian Consulate General in Toronto, which also noted that the incident had a negative impact on the Indian community's sentiments in Canada.

In the meantime, relations between India and Canada have deteriorated since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated during a debate in the Canadian Parliament that his nation's security services had grounds to suspect that "agents of the Indian government" were responsible for the death of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was also the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.

However, India categorically denied the allegations, calling them "motivated" and "absurd." Notably, Canada has not yet made available to the public any proof that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed.

On June 18, a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, was gunned down in a parking lot. Nijjar was a designated terrorist in India.

Notably, in September, India suspended its visa services until "further notice" due to a diplomatic impasse with Canada. However, following a careful assessment of the security situation that "takes into account some recent Canadian measures in this regard," India decided last month to resume providing visa services for travellers falling under four different categories to Canada.

India opted to resume providing visa services in Canada for four categories: conference, business, medical, and entry visas, effective October 26.