Family sources close to Nikhil Gupta have denied reports circulating in diplomatic and media circles that he has turned approver in the United States case related to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot, stating that he has not entered into any cooperation agreement with US prosecutors.
These sources claim that reports that the 54-year-old Gupta has become or is preparing to become an approver are “factually incorrect” and do not reflect his legal position. They assert that while he has accepted the charges he faces by pleading guilty last week, he has not agreed to cooperate against any individual or entity as part of a plea arrangement.
According to the sources, Gupta’s primary concern remains his prolonged separation from his family and the psychological and emotional toll of his incarceration. He has been in custody abroad since June 2023, including time spent in detention in the Czech Republic during extradition proceedings and subsequently in the United States following his transfer to face three counts—murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He will be sentenced on 29 May and faces a potential prison sentence of more than two decades.
“The only thing on his mind now is how soon he can return to India and be with his family,” a person familiar with the family’s position said. The individual added that Gupta’s extended detention has placed considerable strain on both him and his family, who have had limited direct contact with him during the legal process.
The sources also rejected suggestions that Gupta delayed cooperation in exchange for legal concessions, arguing that his legal conduct over the past several years contradicts such claims.
It is to be noted that whatever limited conversation that he has with his family members is monitored closely by prison officials in Brooklyn where is has been incarcerated.
They said he had invested substantial time and financial resources in mounting a legal defence, including contesting his extradition from the Czech Republic and engaging legal counsel to challenge the case in US courts.
“If his intention was to become an approver, he could have done so much earlier instead of spending years fighting extradition and pursuing legal remedies,” one of the family sources said. They described the speculation around his alleged cooperation as “unfounded” and driven by conjecture rather than confirmed legal developments.
Gupta, in multiple previous interactions with The Sunday Guardian, including an interview conducted while he was in prison, has maintained that he was falsely accused and was not involved in any assassination conspiracy. He had asserted that the case stemmed from mistaken identity and broader geopolitical dynamics beyond his control, and denied participating in any plot to target individuals on foreign soil.
Gupta, an Indian national, was arrested in the Czech Republic in 2023 at the request of US authorities and extradited to the United States in 2024. He faces charges in a federal court in New York in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist figure Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen designated as a terrorist by India. US prosecutors have alleged that Gupta was involved in facilitating the plot in coordination with others, claims that have drawn diplomatic attention and heightened scrutiny of India US security relations.
