Goemkarponn desk
WASHINGTON: An Indian national was on Wednesday charged by US federal prosecutors in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil. Nikhil Gupta, 52, has been 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, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew G Olsen said.
The indictment came after the Financial Times reported that the US authorities foiled a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, leader of Sikhs for Justice. India responded to the report and said New Delhi considers such inputs very seriously. On Wednesday, Indian MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said a high-level committee has been set up to look into the security concerns raised by the US government. India has not yet reacted to the indictment.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,” United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement.
Williams said that his Office and law enforcement partners neutralised this “deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate US citizens on US soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad.”
