U.S. indictment on alleged Sikh assassination plot makes link to Nijjar murder
Global News
An Indian national is facing murder-for-hire charges in the case of what American law enforcement call a foiled assassination attempt of an American-Canadian Sikh man.
An Indian national is facing murder-for-hire charges in a case of what American law enforcement are calling an attempt “to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil,” with an alleged connection to an employee of the Indian government.
The indictment, made public on Wednesday, links an alleged employee of the Indian government, identified in Department of Justice documents as CC-1, to the June 18, 2023, murder of Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C.
Nikhil “Nick” Gupta, age 52, was arrested in the Czech Republic at the request of American authorities on June 30, 2023, and extradited to the United States, the documents state.
According to the indictment, Gupta was allegedly sought out by an employee of the Indian government, identified as CC-1 in the indictment, in May, 2023, to orchestrate the attempted assassination of an unnamed target. The target is described as “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.”
It’s alleged CC-1 offered to help Gupta secure the dismissal of a criminal case against him in India.
“I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralized this deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
At CC-1’s direction, Gupta allegedly contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate in New York City that could help him contract a hitman, according to the indictment.