New Delhi: In the high-profile transnational murder-for-hire case that threatened to roil India-US ties, Indian national Nikhil Gupta officially entered a guilty plea in a New York federal court on Friday. The proceedings offer a rare, unfiltered look when the 54-year-old admitted to his role in a plot, allegedly linked to an intelligence operative of the government of India, to kill a US citizen on American soil. The hearing took place on February 13, 2026, at 10.20 am in the Southern District of New York. Presided over by Chief Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, the courtroom was attended by a heavy legal contingent, including Assistant US Attorneys Camille Fletcher, Alexander Li, and Ashley Nicolas, alongside Gupta’s defence lawyer, David Touger. Though Gupta communicated primarily in English, two Hindi interpreters, Umesh C. Passi and Madhu Mishra, were present and sworn in to ensure he understood every legal nuance. He noted during the hearing that his English has improved significantly during his time in detention, though he still requested his attorney be present for his probation interview.Before the plea was entered, Judge Netburn clarified a procedural detail: Gupta had signed a formal consent to proceed before a Magistrate Judge for his felony plea allocution rather than a District Judge. This is a common practice in the US federal system where a defendant waives the right to have a District Judge, who ultimately handles sentencing, preside over the initial guilty plea to expedite the process. Gupta confirmed he understood this right and had discussed it with his attorney. The judge then read out the three counts against him: conspiracy to commit murder for hire, the substantive act of murder for hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.The confession in his own wordsWhen the time came for Gupta to justify his guilty plea, the court asked him to describe his actions in his own words. The following is the verbatim exchange from the court transcript, filed on the court docket which has been accessed by The Wire.THE COURT: Sir, can you tell me now in your own words what you did to make you believe that you are guilty of this charge. THE DEFENDANT: (In English) May I read aloud? THE COURT: Yes. Just make sure you read slowly. THE DEFENDANT: (In English) In the spring of 2023, I agreed with another person to have another individual to murder a person in United States. And in furtherance to that crime, I had delivered $15,000 in cash via cellular phone to another individual in United States.THE COURT: So I understand, sir, your allocution is that in 2023, you and another person agreed to commit murder for hire; and in exchange for that, you received $15,000. Is that correct? MR. TOUGER: He paid somebody else $15,000?THE DEFENDANT: (In English) I paid $15,000 by using the cellular phone to another person. THE COURT: You paid somebody $15,000 to do this? THE DEFENDANT: (In English) Yes.Assassination target was in Queens, New YorkGupta then clarified that while he was in India at the time of the payment, he knew the recipient and the intended assassination target were both located in New York, specifically mentioning Queens for the target.THE COURT: Sir, at the time that you paid that person, you were in India?THE DEFENDANT: (In English) Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: Did you know that the person [who received the money] was in the United States?THE DEFENDANT: (In English) Yeah, that I knew, that he was in the United States. THE DEFENDANT: (In English) In New York, that also. THE COURT: And where did you believe the person who was targeted for murder, where was that person?THE DEFENDANT: (In English) In New York.THE COURT: That person was also in New York?THE DEFENDANT: (In English) Yes. In Queens especially.The likely sentenceDuring the hearing, the court stated it had been informed beforehand that Gupta wished to change his plea to guilty. Gupta confirmed that the indictment had already been translated for him and that he had discussed the charges and the “pros and cons” of pleading guilty with his lawyer “in detail” prior to appearing in court.Gupta now faces a maximum total sentence of 40 years in prison: 10 years each for the two murder-for-hire counts and 20 years for the money laundering conspiracy. However, the government’s Pimentel letter, formal notification providing an estimate of the likely sentence, suggests a guideline range of 235 to 293 months (roughly 19.5 to 23.5 years). He also faces potential fines ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. Gupta confirmed he had seen and discussed the Pimentel letter with his attorney before the hearing.The sentencing range of 235 to 293 months for Gupta is derived from a complex mathematical formula used in the US federal justice system called the Sentencing Guidelines. The actual sentence is guided by an offence level, which in Gupta’s case reached a “Total Offense Level of 38,” the prosecutors told the court. The court has set May 15, 2026, as a control date for the case, with a pre-sentence investigation report by the probation department due to be completed in the interim. In US federal court, a control date is a deadline for the court to ensure that the US Probation Office has completed the Presentence Investigation Report which is a detailed biography and criminal analysis of Gupta used by the judge to finalise the sentence. This ensures that everything is ready for the actual sentencing hearing, currently scheduled for May 29, 2026, before District Judge Victor Marrero.Gupta, a graduate of Delhi University with a Bachelor of Arts, has been in custody for nearly three years following his arrest and subsequent extradition to the US According to the US Bureau of Prisons, Gupta has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, a federal administrative detention facility in New York City from the Czech Republic in June 2024. He will remain in US federal detention while awaiting his sentencing.