Newly unsealed court documents from the U.S. District Court of New York outline an attempted murder for hire plot against a well-known supporter of the Khalistan movement and a connection with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in 2023.
Nijjar, 45, was shot to death on June 18, 2023, in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in the 7000-block of Scott Road in Newton. He was found in his truck.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal counsel for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was the target of a murder plot in New York with links to the Surrey killing, according to the court documents.
Pannun and Nijjar knew each other and were both advocates for Khalistan, the movement to create a separate sovereign Sikh state in the Punjab region of India
The court documents allege that Vikash Yadav, an employee of the Indian government, had recruited several people, including Nikhil Gupta, to plan the assassination of Pannun, who is a U.S. citizen.
"There is evidence which directly links my assassination plot...that an Indian law official is involved, and he is wanted by the FBI," Pannun said.
Yadav was a senior field officer who had responsibilities in security management and intelligence, according to court documents, which allege he directed the assassination plot from India and was employed by the Indian government "at all times relevant to this indictment."
The documents allege that in May 2023, Yadav recruited Gupta to "orchestrate the assassination" of Pannun. He reached out to someone he thought was a criminal associate for help in hiring a hitman. The person ended up being a "confidential source working with U.S. law enforcement." The source introduced Gupta to a "purported hitman" who was an undercover DEA agent. It was agreed by Yadav of the Indian government that the hitman would be paid $100,000 to murder Pannun and would be given $15,000 of that in advance.
Gupta requested regular updates on the plan, including any surveillance photos they might have taken. He also told the agent not to kill the victim when there were upcoming scheduled meetings between high-level U.S. and Indian government officials.
Gupta also told the confidential source and undercover agent that after Pannun's murder, they would give them a list of other "victims to kill."
"For example, on or about June 9, 2023, Gupta told the CS (confidential source) during a call that the murder of the Victim would change the UC's (undercover agent's) life because "we will give more bigger job more, more job every month, every month 2-3 job."
A few days later, on June 12, Gupta told the confidential source that there was a "big target" in Canada.
"On June 18, 2023, a close associate of the intended Victim (Pannun) was shot and killed (Nijjar) by unidentified assailants outside of a temple in British Columbia, Canada. On June 19, 2023, Gupta provided a short video of the deceased associate to the undercover agent and told the undercover agent, in sum and substance, that the deceased was a target he had mentioned previously."
During a phone call with Gupta and the agent, "Gupta told the UC (undercover agent) that Nijjar "was also the target" but that Nijjar was "#4, #3" on the list, and "not to worry [because] we have so many targets, we have so many targets. But the good news is this, the good news is this: now no need to wait."
"This strongly suggests that Gupta and/or persons working with Gupta were responsible for the associate's murder (Nijjar's). Gupta also told the undercover agent that the murder of the intended Victim (Pannun) should now be carried out as soon as possible, without regard to collateral consequences such as potential harm to civilian bystanders or any resulting protests or political upheaval. Gupta told the undercover agent, in sum and substance, that after he (the undercover agent) kills the intended victim, Gupta planned to direct the undercover agent to kill additional targets, at least some of whom are in Canada."
Gupta was arrested at the request of the United States on June 20, 2023, upon his arrival in the Czech Republic after travelling from India. A grand jury indicted Gupta on two counts: murder for hire conspiracy and murder for hire.
The indictment alleges that between May 2023 and June 2023, Gupta and others not known or named at the time had "willingly conspired, confederated and agreed together to...cause another person to travel interstate...with the intent that a murder be committed" and that Gupta, at the direction of Yadav, had instructed the undercover agent "to carry out a plot directed from India to hire a hitman to assassinate the victim in the United States."
Gupta is currently in custody and scheduled to stand trial in the Southern District of New York on Nov. 3, 2025.
The court documents allege that additional Canadian targets were planned.
Vikash Yadav is currently on the FBI's most wanted list for his connection to the murder for hire plot.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In Nijjar's killing, four Indian nationals – Amandeep Singh, Karan Brar, Kamalpreet Singh and Karanpreet Singh – are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the case – though who hired them remains in question. They are next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 14 for a pretrial conference.
Pannun and Sikhs for Justice have long claimed that India's government was involved in Nijjar's killing and the murder for hire plot, and it is not isolated to just these two events.
"The group warns it is part of a broader campaign of transnational repression. According to SFJ, more than 100 pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Canada remain under surveillance as part of a so-called 'Kill List,' allegedly coordinated through Indian consulates in Vancouver and Toronto," Pannun said.
“This is a ticking bomb,” said Pannun. “The Government of Canada has been alerted. Unless it takes decisive legal action, another political assassination on Canadian soil is not just possible—it is imminent.”
“The assassination of Shaheed Nijjar is a direct violation of Canadian sovereignty and an act of transnational terrorism by the Modi regime,” added Pannun.
Pannun told the Now-Leader that this attempt on his life will not stop him from advocating for the global Khalistan referendum campaign. The Khalistan movement seeks the "liberation of Punjab from the Indian occupation."
The next referendum is scheduled for Aug. 17 in Washington, D.C.
"The death threats or the assassination attempts are not going to deter me or stop me from continuing this campaign, because this isn't about the death threat or assassination attempt on me. This campaign is about the existential threat that the Sikh community is facing under the successive Indian regimes in Punjab," Pannun said.
