A plot to assassinate a political dissident in New York City was foiled after the man accused of ordering a hitman was tricked into hiring an undercover agent.
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, was recruited to orchestrate the plot in the Big Apple by an Indian government official, according to a Manhattan federal indictment.
Over the course of May and June of this year, Gupta, 52, exchanged messages with an informant and, unbeknownst to him, an undercover agent straight out of a spy movie, including one who ordered them to ” finish him… finish the job,” the indictment says.
Gupta also promised they would get “more jobs” to kill others if they carried out the crime successfully, court documents show.
An Indian government employee (referred to in court documents as CC-1, or co-conspirator 1) “directed” Gupta to carry out the murder of an Indian-born American “lawyer and political activist” who He is a vocal critic of the Indian government. government and advocates the secession of the northern state of Punjab to establish a Sikh nation called Khalistan, the document says.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a lawyer who works for the group Sikhs for Justice. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Although the indictment does not name the target, it was reported to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer who works for the group Sikhs for Justice, according to The Times of India.
CC-1 told Gupta he would wipe the slate clean on a criminal case in exchange for Gupta’s help in planning the murder, court documents show.
On May 12, CC-1 told Gupta that his criminal case “had already been resolved” and added that “no one from the Gujrat police is calling…no one will ever bother you again,” the indictment alleges.
Pannun was reportedly the target of the attack. AP
Gupta then contacted someone he thought was a criminal to help him find a hitman for the New York murder, but the criminal was actually a confidential source for law enforcement, court documents allege.
The informant connected Gupta to a “hitman,” but the alleged killer was actually an undercover agent, the indictment says.
In the end, Gupta promised to pay $100,000 for the murder-for-hire plot and agreed to give an advance payment of $15,000 until the hit was completed, court documents state.
An image included with the indictment showed the delivery of an initial payment of $15,000 to carry out the hit, allegedly to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
“All money will be paid in [sic] 24 hours after completing the work,” CC-1 told Gupta.
Gupta told CC-1 on May 25 that he told his people in the Big Apple to “discharge” the victim “as soon as possible,” the filing states.
On June 9, CC-1 told Gupta that the down payment for the plan would come “today” and told Gupta to “activate the equipment and finish it this weekend,” the indictment states.
Court documents allege that the hit was aimed at an Indian-born American “lawyer and political activist” who is a vocal critic of the Indian government. AP
That same day, a middleman met with the undercover agent and gave him $15,000, the indictment alleges, including a photo of the hand-to-hand cash transaction that took place inside a car.
CC-1 gave Gupta information about the victim, including his home address, telephone numbers, and information about the victim’s daily activities, which Gupta allegedly relayed to the informant and agent.
Gupta ordered the men not to kill the target during high-level diplomatic meetings between the United States and India, including sending a message on June 6 telling the informant in a call: “We need to calm everything down within 10 days.”
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Gupta assured the informant that after the murder was completed he would have “more jobs, more jobs” for the men “referring to more targeted killings… in the future,” the indictment states.
After the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a friend of the victim, outside a Sikh temple in Canada, Gupta told the undercover agent that Nijjar “was also the target” and added that “we have so many targets,” according to the court documents. .
Nijjar’s death sparked an international incident after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of being involved in the coup, causing a breakdown in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Gupta told the alleged hitman that because of Nijjjar’s murder there was “no longer any need to wait” to kill his target, the indictment states.
CC-1 sent Gupta a news article about his intended target on June 20 and said it is a “priority now,” the indictment says.
Ten days later, on June 30, Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic at the request of US authorities through Interpol and will be exiled to the United States.
There is no scheduled date yet for Gupta’s appearance in federal court in Manhattan. The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on Gupta’s current whereabouts.
“As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to murder, right here in New York City, an American citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated the establishment of a sovereign state for the Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India,” said the Manhattan federal prosecutor. Damian Williams said in a statement.
It was not immediately known if Gupta has an attorney.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn