NEW DELHI: The murder-for-hire trial of Indian national Nikhil “Nick” Gupta, accused by U.S. prosecutors of plotting assassination of Khalistani operative Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on behalf of Indian intelligence, has been delayed in New York.
The case, already politically charged, is expected to bring back into focus the controversy surrounding the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
As reported by this newspaper earlier, Gupta, who has been described by American authorities as a “narcotics and arms trafficker,” was to face trial this week for allegedly conspiring with officials of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), to eliminate Pannun, a U.S.-Canadian citizen declared a terrorist by the Government of India.
The trial has been postponed after Gupta asked to discharge his court-appointed lawyer, accusing him of acting against his interest, and sought permission to represent himself. Senior U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero allowed the motion and has scheduled a pre-trial conference for 14 November to fix new dates.
Gupta has since been assigned another public defender, David Touger, though he continues to insist on arguing his own case.
Court filings seen by The Sunday Guardian indicate that the U.S. prosecution intends to present fresh evidence linking the alleged plot against Pannun to Nijjar’s murder in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.
Investigators are expected to submit wiretaps and video recordings said to show conversations between Gupta and a confidential informant, as well as an undercover agent posing as a contract killer.
According to the U.S. indictment, Gupta shared with the supposed hitman a video of Nijjar’s killing and urged him to “get to work” on the New York target. Prosecutors claim that the conspiracy was facilitated by a serving R&AW officer, Vikash Yadav, who has since been removed from his position in India. India has stated that he was acting on his own.
The American court documents also refer to a third individual—based either in Nepal or Pakistan—who was allegedly marked for elimination through a plan “strikingly similar” to the one drawn against Pannun.
The fresh evidence to be aired in the U.S. courtroom may again test the normalization efforts that India and Canada have taken in the recent past and revive uncomfortable questions about the extent of official involvement in such operations.
