American justice reveals the underside of an Indian plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York

The indictment is now official: the American federal justice system accuses “an employee of the Indian government whose identity is known” of having recruited a henchman named Nikhil Gupta to assassinate, in New York, a Sikh separatist of American nationality. The potential target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, known for having founded the American organization Sikhs for Justice which campaigns for the creation of an independent Sikh state, “Khalistan”, within the borders of what is now Punjab (northern India).

This is what emerges from the indictment made public Wednesday, November 29 by a federal court in Manhattan, which charges Nikhil Gupta, 52, of “sponsored murder” and of “murder commissioned by criminal conspiracy”two sentences each leading to ten years in prison.

The plot began in May, when Nikhil Gupta was charged by the Indian official, presented by American justice as “senior field officer” with responsibilities in the areas of “security management” a you “information”, to assassinate the Sikh separatist. Nikhil Gupta has, according to his statements, been involved in drug and arms trafficking. His interlocutor promises him in exchange that India will drop ongoing legal proceedings against him in the state of Gujarat, the former stronghold of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

To do this, on the advice of the Indian official who was not indicted, Nikhil Gupta contacted an intermediary and a hitman – in reality American agents. The price is set: 100,000 dollars (91,000 euros), including 15,000 dollars in advance, paid in cash on June 9, in New York, in a vehicle in Manhattan (the indictment provides a photograph of the exchange of tickets). It is specified that the attack must not take place while Indian-American political meetings are underway.

Everything accelerated on June 18, when another Sikh separatist known to Mr. Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was assassinated outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia (Canada). The Indian agent then sends Gupta a video of the crime scene and tells him that Nijjar “was also a target”. “We have so many targets”, he adds. He gives him the home address of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. The latter risks becoming suspicious, there is no longer any question of waiting.

But between June 21 and 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received with great fanfare by Joe Biden, who even honored him with a solemn dinner at the White House. The American president then judged that the partnership between the United States and India “was stronger, narrower and more dynamic than at any other time in history”. This welcome contributed to strengthening the status of the Hindu nationalist among his own population, one year before the legislative elections which will take place in spring 2024.

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