Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta sentenced to 24 years imprisonment in the US

Case of murder plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

Arrested Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta and Khalistani terrorist Pannu (in the circle)

New York (USA) – Indian national Nikhil Gupta has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for conspiring to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Nikhil pleaded guilty in a New York Court on February 13^th. He was charged for three crimes, which included murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the plot was designed to assassinate an American citizen, which was foiled in time by the US agencies.

Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta has been sentenced to 24 years in the United States 🇺🇸

The case is linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Notably, no action has been taken against Pannun in the U.S. despite his repeated anti-India… pic.twitter.com/QVuwRvFBFi

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) February 14, 2026

Gupta was arrested from the European country Czech Republic

Nikhil Gupta was arrested by the Police in the European country of Czech Republic on June 30th, 2023, on charges of plotting to murder Pannun. Nikhil was then extradited to the United States on June 14^th, 2024. Nikhil was tried in the United States, where he declared himself innocent.

The US Department of Justice has claimed that an Indian Government employee asked Nikhil Gupta to arrange for an attacker to kill Pannun, an allegation made in an indictment filed in federal Court in Manhattan.

Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun ?

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is originally from Khankot, Punjab. He currently lives in the United States and runs an organization called ‘Sikhs for Justice’ that demands Khalistan. He holds citizenship of both the United States and Canada. The Indian Government banned Pannun’s organization in 2019 on charges of terrorist activities. Pannun was accused in 2020 of promoting separatism and inciting Punjabi Sikh youth to take up arms. The Union Government then declared Pannun a terrorist on July 1^st, 2020.

Editorial Perspective

It is more likely that the US, which did not register any case against Pannun, who committed terrorist acts against India, deliberately implicated Nikhil Gupta in this case.