U.S. prosecutors based in Manhattan are preparing to present new evidence in an upcoming trial that will shed light on the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. The evidence will focus on the alleged involvement of the Indian government in orchestrating the hit. The trial will involve Nikhil (Nick) Gupta, a suspect charged with organizing a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The revelations in the trial could pose challenges for India as diplomatic and trade relations between Ottawa and New Delhi are being restored. Gupta is accused of collaborating with an official from India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) named Vikash Yadav to carry out the assassination of Pannun and at least three other individuals, including Nijjar.
Gupta, aged 53, was apprehended in Czechia and extradited to the U.S. in June 2024. While India considers Pannun a terrorist, both the U.S. and Canada, where Pannun is a citizen, do not share this view. Pannun maintains that his activism is focused on peaceful referendum campaigns across the Sikh diaspora.
According to Pannun, the evidence implicates official Indian involvement in the plot to assassinate Nijjar in Surrey, B.C. Gupta has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the allegations are yet to be proven in court. The trial is scheduled to commence on November 3.
In an attempt to safeguard U.S.-Indian relations, negotiations between the Biden administration and the Modi government resulted in an agreement stipulating that Yadav would no longer serve the Indian government. Reports suggest that the U.S. agreed not to prosecute Yadav as part of the agreement.
The court filing also alleges that Gupta had plans to target a third individual in Nepal or Pakistan, demonstrating a similar modus operandi as the plot to murder Pannun. Video evidence of Nijjar’s killing, along with wiretap recordings of conversations between Gupta and others involved in the scheme, will be presented in court as part of the prosecution’s case.
Expert testimony from Nitasha Kaul, a professor of international relations at the University of Westminster in London, will be sought to provide insights into the motives of the Government of India in targeting Sikh separatists. The testimony aims to highlight the GOI’s perceived threat from Sikh separatist groups and its intelligence service’s methods and objectives.
The U.S. government’s intention to link the Indian government to the killings may create tensions with New Delhi, which has sought to distance itself from the Pannun plot and disavow any connection to the Nijjar assassination. Kaul’s personal experiences with the Modi government’s actions have also been highlighted, underscoring the potential political ramifications of the trial proceedings.