Nikhil Gupta Sentencing In Pannun Murder Plot Pushed To November

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – A federal judge has postponed the sentencing of Indian national Nikhil Gupta to November 20 in connection with the alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The hearing, which was originally set for September 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was adjourned after federal prosecutors asked for more time for the intended victim to attend and speak at the proceedings. Court filings do not name the victim, but Pannun’s lawyer has publicly identified him as the target of the alleged murder-for-hire plot.

Gupta’s defense team did not object to the delay and told the court it was available on November 6 or November 20. Judge Victor Marrero selected November 20 and set the hearing for 10 a.m.

The sentencing follows Gupta’s February 13 guilty plea to three charges: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The first two charges each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while the money-laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 20 years.

US prosecutors have accused Gupta of arranging to pay $100,000 to a hitman to assassinate Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. According to the Department of Justice, an Indian government official identified by US authorities as Vikash Yadav recruited Gupta in May 2023 to help coordinate the planned killing in New York.

The plot was disrupted after the person Gupta believed to be a hitman turned out to be an undercover US federal agent.

Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in 2023, and extradited to the US a year later.