Indian admits plot to kill US Sikh leader

An Indian national admitted in a US court to participating in a scheme to hire a hitman to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Nikhil Gupta, 54, transferred $15,000 to someone he believed would carry out the assassination, but the individual turned out to be a DEA source. Gupta pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire charges and could face 20 to 24 years in prison, with authorities alleging the plot was part of a wider campaign targeting Indian dissidents abroad. Pannun, a vocal advocate for Punjab’s secession, remains undeterred in his activism despite being labeled a “terrorist” by New Delhi.

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