The DOJ charged an Indian national of orchestrating a plot to kill a Sikh activist in New York City at the direction of an Indian government employee.
An Indian national has been charged with allegedly orchestrating a thwarted murder-for-hire plot that sought to execute a U.S. citizen and Sikh activist on U.S. soil in New York City.
Nikhil “Nick” Gupta, 52, of India, is charged with murder for hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced. He is alleged to have worked at the direction of an unnamed Indian government agency employee, according to the charges contained in a superseding indictment unsealed in federal court Wednesday.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralized this deadly and outrageous threat.
