WASHINGTON: A murder-for-hire plot in the US that authorities say involved an Indian government official included plans for an additional assassination in Nepal or Pakistan, prosecutors alleged in court documents.
The Department of Justice last year accused Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, of attempting to assassinate a US citizen of Sikh faith in New York. Prosecutors allege Gupta was given the orders by Vikash Yadav, an officer with India’s external intelligence agency. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the US. Yadav remains in India.
In a report titled ‘US Prosecutors Allege India Agent Also Plotted Murder in Pakistan or Nepal’ published on Friday, Bloomberg said that new documents filed in federal court in New York this week allege Gupta and Yadav had plans to kill “another individual in Nepal or Pakistan”. In the filing, US prosecutors also linked the two men to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot in Canada in 2023.
Nijjar was a Sikh activist supporting an independent homeland in India called Khalistan. He and the intended victim in New York, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, were associates. Both men were vocal opponents of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and considered terrorists by the Indian government.
The new allegations suggest US prosecutors believe the alleged murder-for-hire scheme was wider in scope than previously revealed — spread across multiple countries including those on India’s borders, and potentially raising new questions about violations of international law.
Gupta has pleaded not guilty to the charges. US authorities issued an arrest warrant for Yadav last year and his lawyer in India declined comment, saying he hadn’t been formally presented with the charges, the Bloomberg report said. The allegations could roil India’s ties with its neighbours.
Relations with Pakistan are already at a low point following a four-day armed conflict in May. The political situation in Nepal, meanwhile, remains fragile following a violent street rebellion that toppled the government earlier this month.
Ties between the US and India have also ebbed in recent months. The Trump administration has placed a 50 per cent tariff rate on India — far higher than other countries in the region — as punishment for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
The court document also lands at an awkward time for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is pushing to strengthen ties with India after they broke down under his predecessor Justin Trudeau. Canadian authorities have charged four Indian nationals in Nijjar’s murder, and the case is proceeding through the courts, Bloomberg reported.
