The United State has charged an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta for being involved in an alleged plot to assassinate a Sikh leader who is also an American citizen on American soil.
A press release on the indictment posted on the US Department of Justice's website also mentions the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
It says that on June 19, 2023 - a day after Nijjar's killing - Nikhil Gupta told the 'hitman' he had allegedly hired to kill the US Sikh leader that Nijjar was also one of the targets and that they have many targets. US has said that the 'hitman' was their undercover agent. The US statement also says that Gupta told the 'hitman' that there was no need to wait to kill the target in the light of Nijjar's murder.
The indictment has not named the US citizen but The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, last week reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate banned Sikhs for Justice’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.
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