Indian government plotted to assassinate Sikh leader in NYC, say feds

The Indian government wanted to assassinate a Sikh leader in New York City and was also behind the murder of another Sikh leader in Canada, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The assassination scheme against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was foiled by undercover agents, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court.

An Indian government official worked with Indian citizen Nick Gupta to plan Pannun’s assassination, the feds said. The official has been identified by U.S. authorities but was not named in the charging documents. Gupta, however, was arrested in the Czech Republic in June and extradited to the U.S.

The government official contacted Gupta, who then reached out to someone he considered a “criminal associate,” according to the feds. But the contact was actually a police informant.

When Gupta told the law enforcement source that he was trying to hire a hitman to kill Pannun, the informant put him in touch with an undercover agent, investigators said.

The four parties — the Indian official, Gupta, the informant and the undercover agent — exchanged numerous messages throughout May and June of 2023, including photos of Pannun and his home in New York City, according to the charging documents. The undercover agent even received a $15,000 advance payment for the hit

While the schemers were plotting Pannun’s assassination, another Sikh separatist leader was murdered by gunmen in Vancouver, Canada. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside his house of worship on June 18.