Pannun Assassination Plot: ‘Gupta worked at the direction of an Indian govt employee to arrange the murder plot’

The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in his plea before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in ‌Manhattan federal court. The DoJ statement quotes its second superseding indictment in the case, issued in 2024, saying, “In or about 2023, Gupta worked together with others in India and elsewhere, including, as alleged in the Second Superseding Indictment, co-defendant Vikash Yadav, who was at relevant times an Indian government employee, to plot the assassination of an attorney and political activist (Pannun, called ‘the victim’).

According to the release issued by US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, “GUPTA is a citizen and was a resident of India, and he has described himself as an international narcotics and weapons trafficker in electronic communications with YADAV and others. YADAV was employed by the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.”

Gupta has been jailed in Brooklyn since his June 2024 extradition to the US from the Czech Republic, where he had been arrested a year earlier. The prosecutors ‌had accused Gupta of plotting along with an Indian government official to ‌ kill Pannun, a US resident and dual US-Canadian citizen. He had pleaded not guilty immediately after his extradition.

Following an investigation by FBI New York, @DEANEWYORKDiv, and @SDNYnews, Nikhil Gupta pled guilty to plotting to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City.

Read more about the FBI’s continued commitment to defend the homeland from foreign nationals targeting our citizens… pic.twitter.com/cElDtolY5y

— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) February 13, 2026

On several occasions after the case came to light, New Delhi dissociated itself from any plot against Pannun, saying it was against government policy. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly dismissed allegations regarding the assassination plot, calling the allegations as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated”.

In response to the case, India set up a high-level inquiry committee last November to address security concerns raised by the US. The MEA reiterated India’s commitment to taking such matters seriously, given their implications for national security.

In October 2024, the MEA confirmed that the individual named in the US Justice Department’s indictment related to a foiled assassination plot against Pannun is no longer employed by the Indian government. While the original indictment identified the government official as “ CC-1”, in October 2024, US authorities unsealed a second superseding indictment naming “CC-1” as Yadav.

“The US State Department informed us that the individual mentioned in the indictment is no longer employed by India. I confirm that he is no longer an employee of the Government of India,” the MEA had said later.

Quoting FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky, the DoJ statement on February 13 said, “Nikhil Gupta was a key participant in a murder-for-hire plot against a US citizen, a murder that was prevented thanks to the actions of US law enforcement.”

“The US citizen became a target of transnational repression solely for exercising their freedom of speech. The message from the FBI should be clear—no matter where you are located, if you try to harm our citizens we will not stop until you are brought to justice,” Rozhavsky said.

Gupta, 54, of India, pled guilty to murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the statement said.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge, it added.