New Delhi: Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who United States (US) prosecutors say was recruited by a former officer of India’s external intelligence agency RAW to arrange the assassination of Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, has now pleaded guilty to all three counts in the alleged murder‑for‑hire plot.The 54‑year‑old, in US custody since his extradition from the Czech Republic in June 2024, appeared before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan federal court on February 12, where he admitted guilt to conspiracy to commit murder‑for‑hire, murder‑for‑hire and money‑laundering conspiracy, offences that together carry a maximum of 40 years in prison.According to court records, Judge Netburn recommended that District Judge Victor Marrero accept the plea, continued his detention and ordered a presentence investigation report. A control date has been set for March 15.The US justice department’s press release is titled ‘Nikhil Gupta Worked at the Direction of an Indian Government Employee to Arrange the Murder of U.S.-Based Leader of Sikh Separatist Movement’.“At the direction and coordination of an Indian government employee, Nikhil Gupta plotted to assassinate a United States citizen on American soil, facilitating a foreign adversary’s unlawful effort to silence a vocal critic of the Indian government,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr, is quoted as having said in the release.The release spells out Gupta’s association with former R&AW employee Vikash Yadav:“In or about 2023, GUPTA worked together with others in India and elsewhere, including, as alleged in the Second Superseding Indictment, co-defendant VIKASH YADAV, who was at relevant times an Indian government employee, to plot the assassination of an attorney and political activist (the “Victim”) on U.S. soil.[1] The Victim, who is a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a U.S.-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. The Victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the Victim and his separatist organization from India.“GUPTA is a citizen and was a resident of India, and he has described himself as an international narcotics and weapons trafficker in electronic communications with YADAV and others. YADAV was employed by the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India’s foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.”The total maximum term of imprisonment on the three counts on which Gupta is charged is 40 years.Sentencing will take place on May 29, 2026.Gupta was arrested at Prague’s Vaclav Havel airport in June 2023 on the basis of a US request and later extradited to face trial in New York.The extradition process and the scope of the charges formed a key part of Gupta’s defence strategy.In October 2025, Judge Marrero denied his motion to suppress evidence and dismiss a charge, rejecting arguments that his rights had been violated during his arrest in Prague and that the money laundering count fell outside the terms of extradition.Following that ruling, the case moved towards trial. In October 2025, the court granted Gupta’s request for substitution of counsel, appointing David Touger under the Criminal Justice Act.At a pre-trial conference on November 18, 2025, Judge Marrero set March 30, 2026 as the trial date and approved a schedule for expert disclosures and motions in limine.Instead of proceeding to trial, Gupta changed his plea in February. US prosecutors have alleged that the 52-year-old acted at the direction of Vikash Yadav – identified in US court filings as a former officer linked to RAW – to arrange the killing of Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen.Yadav remains outside US custody and his whereabouts in India are unknown. The allegation that a former Indian intelligence official was linked to a murder-for-hire conspiracy on US soil has made the case a diplomatic hot potato between Washington and New Delhi. While acknowledging that Yadav was previously an Indian government office, India also attempted to project him a rogue agent.According to the indictment, Gupta sought out a contact to find a contract killer, unaware that both the intermediary and the purported hitman were cooperating with US authorities. A USD 15,000 cash payment was allegedly delivered in New York as an advance on a promised USD 100,000 fee.In earlier filings, prosecutors referred to WhatsApp exchanges in which Yadav allegedly promised to supply “assault rifles and pistols” and to “arrange for the clearance of an airplane to transport the weapons from India”. They also cited discussions about additional alleged “targets” outside New York.Note: This report has been updated with details from the US Department of Justice’s press release and other legal documents since publication.