The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Nikhil Gupta, a 54‑year‑old Indian national, pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to conspiring to hire a contract killer to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. citizen and prominent Sikh separatist activist living in New York. According to reporting by MyNorthwest, the plot was disrupted after Gupta unknowingly coordinated with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman.

Federal prosecutors say Gupta was acting under the direction of an employee of the Indian government. He admitted in court that he paid $15,000 online in 2023 believing he was arranging the targeted killing of Pannun, an attorney and advocate for the creation of Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh state. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton responded to the plea with a pointed warning that individuals abroad should not attempt to orchestrate violence inside the United States against people on American soil.

Gupta, who was extradited from the Czech Republic in June 2023, is expected to receive at least a 20‑year prison sentence under the terms of his plea agreement. Court documents describe him telling the undercover officer that the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar earlier in 2023 was connected to the same network now targeting Pannun.

The case drew a crowd of supporters from across the U.S. and Canada to the Manhattan courtroom, many of whom share Pannun’s political aims. After the hearing, Pannun reiterated that he plans to continue his activism and called for the U.S. government to hold higher‑level officials accountable.

While the plot unfolded thousands of miles from Cowlitz County, it highlights a trend federal agencies have increasingly warned about: foreign governments attempting to surveil, intimidate, or harm political dissidents living in the United States. Washington State has one of the nation’s larger Sikh communities, concentrated primarily in the Puget Sound region but also present in Southwest Washington. Local community members who maintain ties to Punjab or who participate in diaspora political movements may view this case as confirmation that overseas political disputes can reach into American cities, workplaces, and houses of worship.

Both the FBI and DOJ have, in recent years, issued public advisories about transnational repression — a term used to describe foreign governments targeting individuals in the U.S. through surveillance, harassment, coercion, or attempted violence. For small communities like those in Cowlitz County, where immigrant and refugee populations may feel isolated from larger support networks, these cases underscore the importance of reporting suspicious contacts or intimidation attempts to local law enforcement or federal agencies.

Sentencing in Gupta’s case is currently scheduled for May 29 in federal court.