Court documents in the U.S. have revealed startling details of an alleged conspiracy involving an Indian intelligence operative and an arms smuggling deal tied to multiple assassination plots.
According to prosecutors, Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, was recruited to arrange killings not only in New York but also in Pakistan and Nepal. He allegedly worked under the direction of Vikash Yadav, a former officer linked to India’s intelligence agency RAW.
Yadav reportedly promised Gupta a plane loaded with firearms — including rifles and pistols — in exchange for organizing a contract killing of a U.S.-based Sikh separatist leader. WhatsApp messages between the two suggest that Yadav’s support, including the arms supply, was conditional upon the murder being carried out.
Gupta, already involved in drug and arms trafficking, was arrested in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and later extradited to the U.S. He now faces charges of murder-for-hire, money laundering, fraud, and smuggling, each carrying potential prison terms of up to 10 years.
The U.S. Department of Justice emphasized that it would not tolerate attempts by foreign actors to silence political activists on American soil. The FBI and DEA are jointly investigating the case.
