Nikhil Gupta indictment: Series of accusations spiral India-US diplomacy into frenzy; here's all you need to know

The indictment document recently put out by the US Attorney's Office has further derailed India’s diplomatic relations with not only the US but also Canada.

The document regarding prosecution of prime accused Nikhil Gupta has also broiled down in clear terms the involvement of an Indian Intelligence employee in plotting the murder of ‘US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs’. Though the indictment document does not name the Sikh leader, Financial Times reported a couple of days ago that Gurpatwant Pannu’s assassination plot was foiled by US agencies and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.

The document is a rather detailed report on a series of events that conspired from May 2023 and alleges clear directions of Indian government officials, referred to as CC-1, to their recruiter Nikhil Gupta, to hire a gunman and orchestrate the assassination. In a deal that was brokered by Nikhil Gupta, the duo arranged an advanced payment of “$100,000” to the hitman.

The document states that the 'hitman' and 'US contact' that Indian government official and Nikhil Gupta had hired, were in fact agents of US Law Enforcement, which is how US claims to have foiled the attempt.

The indictment document is brazen in its attack, as it not only makes charges about Pannu, but also states that Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination in Canada was also part of the same programme that was run from India.

Let's take a closer look at events that conspired, leading up to Nikhil Gupta’s arrest in Czechoslovakia.

The allegations

According to a statement from the US Department of Justice (DoJ), an Indian government employee, along with others including Gupta, was involved in a plot to assassinate a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City on the US soil.

The DoJ has not disclosed the name of this government employee and refers to him as "CC-1" in the release, and stated that they worked "with intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of a State and the United States"

CC-1 is described as an employee of an Indian government agency, identifying himself as a "Senior Field Officer" with responsibilities in "Security Management" and "Intelligence." He has also mentioned his previous service in India's Central Reserve Police Force and receiving training in "battle-craft" and "weapons''.

The DoJ states that CC-1 directed the assassination plot from India and allegedly recruited Gupta to carry out the assassination in the United States.

Who is Nikhil Gupta and why he agreed for the job?

An official press release by the US Department of Justice stated, “Today in the Southern District of New York, a superseding indictment was unsealed alleging murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, aka Nick, 52, in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a US citizen in New York City.”

The indictment document has called out Nikhil Gupta as ‘an Indian national and an associate of an Indian government official (CC-1)’ who has been involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking.

The document has cited May 2023 conversations between the Intelligence official (CC-1) and Gupta, in which CC-1 asks Gupta to ‘arrange the murder of the Victim in exchange for CC-1's assistance in securing the dismissal of a criminal case against Gupta in India', following which Gupta agreed to orchestrate the assassination.

As the plot escalated, CC-1 even notified Gupta that his criminal case "has already been taken care of'', and that "nobody from Gujrat _police is calling”, the document alleges.

How was the plot foiled?

According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), in order to carry out a planned assassination, Gupta, under the direction of CC-1, contacted an individual whom he believed to be a criminal associate.

However, this individual was actually a confidential source working with US law enforcement. This source then introduced Gupta to someone posing as a hitman, who was actually an undercover US law enforcement officer.

The DoJ stated that a deal of $100,000 was arranged for the hit job. Gupta received personal information about the intended victim from CC-1, including their home address, phone numbers, and details about their daily activities.

Gupta then passed this information to the undercover officer, whom he believed to be the hitman. The DoJ mentioned that Gupta instructed the 'hitman' to carry out the assassination as soon as possible but specifically advised against doing so during anticipated engagements between high-level US and Indian government officials. On or around June 11, CC-1 even messaged Gupta that "but we have today only ..if it doesn't happen today it will be done after 24th."

One might want to state here that PM Modi had gone to the US on June 24.

Additionally, after the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, Gupta allegedly informed the 'hitman' that Nijjar was also a target and mentioned having multiple targets. CC-1 sent Gupta a news article about the Victim and messaged Gupta, “[i]t’s [a] priority now,” the DoJ alleged.

Indian government’s response

The Indian government responded to allegations today and said an Indian government official being linked to a plot to murder a US national is a "matter of concern." India's foreign ministry spokesperson further added that any such plot is not the government's policy.

"India needs to take Canada's allegations seriously," Trudeau said post the US case.

To this, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "In so far as Canada is concerned, we have said that they have consistently given space to anti-India extremists and that is actually the heart of the issue. Our diplomatic representatives in Canada have borne the brunt of this. So, we expect the Government of Canada to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We have also seen interference by Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and that is unacceptable."

India has also constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe allegations relating to a conspiracy to kill a Sikh extremist on American soil.