Alleged Govt Official in Delhi to Accused Nikhil Gupta: Target In New York, Another In California
| 29/11/2023
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NIKHIL GUPTA,
a/Ida "Nick,"
V.
Defendant.
SEALED SUPERSEDING
INDICTMENT
S 1 23 Cr. 289 (VM)
BACKGROUND
Overview
Earlier this year, an identified Indian government
employee ("CC-1 "), working together with others in India and
elsewhere, including NIK.HIL GUPTA, a/k/a "Nick," the defendant
("GUPTA"), directed a plot to assassinate, on U.S. soil, an attorney
and political activist, who is a U.S. citizen of lndian origin residing in New
York City (the "Victim"). The Victim is a vocal critic of the Indian
government and leads a U.S.-based organization that advocates for the secession
of Punjab, a state in nmihern India that is home to a large population of
Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. The Victim has publicly
called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh
sovereign state called K.halistan, and the Indian government has banned the
Victim and his separatist organization from India. U.S. law enforcement
detected and disrupted the plot to murder the Victim.
2. CC-1 has variously described being employed by the
Indian government as a "Senior Field Officer" with responsibilities
in "Security Management" and "Intelligence." CC-1 also has
referenced previously serving in India's Central Reserve Police Force, and
receiving "officer[] training" in "battle craft" and
"weapons." CC-1 was employed at all times relevant to this Indictment
by the Indian government, resides in India, and directed the assassination plot
from India.
3. In or about May 2023, CC-1 recruited GUPTA to
orchestrate the assassination of the Victim in the United States. GUPTA, an
Indian national who also resides in India, is an associate of CC-1 and has
described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in
his communications with CC-1 and others.
4. At CC-1 's direction, GUPTA contacted an individual
whom GUPTA believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a
confidential source working with U.S. law enforcement (the "CS"), for
assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the Victim in New York City. The
CS introduced GUPTA to a purported hitman, who was in fact an undercover U.S.
law enforcement officer (the "UC"). CC-1 subsequently agreed, in
dealings brokered by GUPTA, to pay the UC $100,000 to murder the Victim. On or
about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and GUPTA arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000
in cash to the UC in Manhattan, New York, as an advance payment for the murder.
5. In or about June 2023, in furtherance of the
assassination plot, CC-1 provided GUPTA with personal information about the
Victim- including the Victim's home address in New York City, phone numbers
associated with the Victim, and details about the Victim's day-today conduct-
which GUPTA then passed to the UC. CC-1 directed GUPTA to provide regular updates
on the progress of the assassination plot, which GUPTA accomplished by
forwarding to
CC-I, among other things, surveillance photographs of
the Victim that the UC had sent to GUPTA.
GUPTA directed the UC to cany out the murder as soon
as possible, but GUPTA also specifically instmcted the UC not to commit the
murder around the time of anticipated engagements scheduled to occur in the
ensuing weeks between high-level U.S. and Indian government officials.
6. On or about June 18, 2023, masked gunmen murdered
Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar
was an associate of the Victim, and like the Victim, was a leader of the Sikh
separatist movement and an outspoken critic of the Indian government. Later
that evening, just hours after the Nijjar mlll·der, CC-1 sent GUPTA a video
clip that showed Nijjar's bloody body slumped in his vehicle; about an hour
later, CC-1 sent GUPTA the street address of the Victim's residence in New York
City. On or about June 19, 2023, the day after the Nijjar murder, GUPTA told
the UC that Nijjar "was also the target" and "we have so many
targets."1 GUPTA added that, in light ofNijjar's murder, there was
"now no need to wait" on killing the Victim. On or about June 20,
2023, CC-1 sent GUPTA a news article about the Victim and messaged GUPTA,
" [i]t's [a] priority now."
7. On or about June 30, 2023, GUPTA was a.nested in
the Czech Republic at the request of the United States in connection with his
participation in the plot to murder the Victim. CC-1 Recruits GUPTA to Arrange
the Victim's Murder
8. Beginning in or about early May 2023, in a series
of telephonic and electronic communications between CC-1 and GUPTA over
enc1ypted applications, CC-1 asked GUPTA to arrange the murder of the Victim in
exchange for CC-1 's assistance in securing the dismissal of a criminal case
against GUPTA in India. GUPTA agreed to orchestrate the assassination. In
addition to their electronic communications, GUPTA also met CC-1 in-person in
New Delhi in furtherance of the plot.
1 GUPTA and the UC communicated in English. GUPTA and
the CS communicated in English with occasional Spanish phrases. GUPTA and CC-1
largely communicated in English, and GUPTA sometimes left CC-1 voice notes in
Hindi. All communications are described in substance and in part, and are based
on draft transcriptions and (where necessaty) English translations. Grammatical
and typographical enors appear as in the original commwtlcations unless
otherwise indicated.
9. On or about May 6, 2023, at the outset of their
conversation over a particular encrypted messaging application, CC-1 wrote
GUPTA: "This is [CC-1]. .. Save my name as [CC-1 Alias]." GUPTA saved
the telephone number on GUPTA's phone under an alias for CC-1. A few minutes
later, CC-1 messaged GUPTA that CC-1 had a "target in New York" and
another target in "California." GUPTA replied: ''We will hit our all
Targets." The telephone number used by CC-1 has an India country code and
is registered to an email account that, based on Internet Protocol data,
accessed the Internet during the period of the murder plot on numerous
occasions from the vicinity of New Delhi, where CC-1 worked during the relevant
time period for an Indian government agency as set forth above.
10. On or about May 12, 2023, CC-1 notified GUPTA that
his criminal case "has already been taken care of," and .that
"nobody from Gujrat police is calling."2 On or about May 23, 2023,
CC-1 again assured GUPTA that CC-1 had "spoke[n] with the boss about your
Gujarat [case]," that it was "all clear," and "nobody will
ever bother you again." CC-1 further offered to arrange a meeting between
GUPTA and a "DCP," which is an acronym used in India for Deputy Commissioner
of Police.
11. Following CC-1 's assurances, GUPTA pressed
forward to arrange the murder. On or about May 29, 2023, GUPTA asked the CS by
phone if the CS knew anyone who would be willing to carry out a murder-for-hire
in the United States. GUPTA explained that the intended victim was a lawyer who
split time between New York City and another U.S. city ("U.S.
City-I"). The CS responded that he would reach out to his contacts.
12. Over the ensuing weeks, GUPTA engaged in a series
of electronic and recorded communications with the CS and later the UC,
including by phone, video, and text message, during
2 Gujarat is a state in western India which they
discussed, among other things, the logistics and price of the murder. For
example, during a video call, GUPTA reminded the CS that the Victim worked as a
lawyer and suggested that the CS' s associates could contact the Victim under
the guise of obtaining legal advice in order to lure the Victim to a place
where he could be more easily executed. GUPTA also directed the CS to a website
where the CS could find New York and U.S. City-I addresses for the Victim's offices.
On or about May 29, 2023, GUPTA messaged the CS the Victim's name and other information
about the Victim, and advised that the Victim spent most of his time in New
York. In response, the CS asked GUPTA for additional information about the
Victim and details about payment for the murder.
13. On or about May 29, 2023, GUPTA sent screenshots
to CC-1 of GUPTA's text messages with the CS, in which the CS requested details
about the Victim and about payment for killing the Victim. CC-1 responded that
"we a.re ready to pay $150000 ... the offer will go higher depending upon
the quality of the work ... and if it's done as soon as possible,"
referring to the murder ("the work") and executing the plot quickly.
GUPTA replied to CC-1 with a screenshot of the CS requesting "100 k."
CC-I responded "Ok," and then added that while an advance payment was
not possible, "the whole money will be paid with in [sic] 24 hours after
the work is done." On or about June 1, 2023, CC-1 sent GUPTA the street
address for the Victim's home in New York City, which CC-1 described to GUPTA
as "the locality of [the Victim's] House."
14. On or about June 2, 2023, CC-1 messaged GUPTA,
asking for "any update" on the murder plot, stating "[i]t's
important and less time." GUPTA responded that he expected to have an
update the following day. The next day, on or about June 3, 2023, GUPTA spoke
with the CS by audio call, and urged the CS to have his associates cany out the
murder soon, stating: "finish him brother, finish him, don't take too much
time ... push these guys, push these guys .. . , finish the job." GUPTA
directed the CS to a particular cellphone application that records Global Positioning
System ("GPS") coordinates and enables the user to take photographs
(the "GPS Application"), which CC-1 had previously sent to GUPTA on
or about May 25, 2023, and GUPTA asked the CS to have the CS's associates in
New York use the GPS Application to transmit surveillance of the Victim. Later
that day, GUPTA messaged CC-1 that GUPTA had "spoke[n] with the NY
group" and "told them they have to discharge [the Victim] as soon as
possible.'' On or about June 4, 2023, GUPTA again spoke with the CS by audio
call, and promised the CS that "if this job is done successfully"
then GUPTA would "bring the chief' to meet the CS. GUPTA further noted
that GUPTA would be speaking with those directing the murder.
CC-1 and GUPTA Make an Advance Payment fo1· the Murder
15. As their plotting continued, and CC-1 and GUPTA
sought to orchestrate the assassination as soon as possible, CC-1 and GUPTA
offered to make an upfront cash payment to the CS for the murder. As set forth
below, CC-1 and GUPTA ananged the payment of $15,000 in cash to the UC in
Manhattan, as an advance payment for the murder of the Victim.
16. On or about June 4, 2023, the CS sent GUPTA a
purported surveillance photograph of the Victim taken using the GPS Application
(the "Surveillance Photo"). The CS represented to GUPTA via text
message that the Surveillance Photo was proof that the CS' s New York
associates were monitoring the Victim and that the Victim would be killed as
soon as they received an advance payment of $25,000. On or about June 5, 2023,
GUPTA sent the Surveillance Photo and a screenshot of the CS's messages to
CC-1. GUPTA asked CC-1 to "check with [his] NY dealer if he can an-ange
the 25k [payment] there."
17. On or about June 6, 2023, GUPTA messaged the CS
asking to be put directly in touch with the CS's New York associates who would
receive the advance payment and cany out the murder of the Victim. In response,
the CS introduced GUPTA through electronic messages to the UC, who was
purpo1ting to be the CS's associate in New York. That same day, GUPTA sent screenshots
to CC-1 of GUPTA's messages with the CS discussing the advance payment and introducing
the UC. CC-1 replied "Ok bhaiji."3
18. Onor about June 7, 2023, GUPTA messaged CC-1 that
GUPTA's associate did not have the funds available in New York to make the
advance payment, and asked that CC-1 check with his contact. GUPTA added that
he could "pay here in Delhi also." The next day, on or about
June 8, 2023, CC-1 replied to GUPTA with the name of
an associate ("Individual-I"), and a phone number for Individual-I
with an Indian country code.
19. On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 messaged GUPTA,
"Bhai ji I guess you are in communication with [Indi vidual-1], he said
payment will be made today positively .. Let's activate the team and get it
done this weekend," referring to executing the murder of the Victim during
the ensuing weekend. GUPTA responded in the affirmative. Approximately two
hours later, GUPTA informed the UC by text message and voice note that another
associate ("Individual-2") would call GUPTA to arrange the delivery
by noon that day of the "parcel," meaning the advance cash payment
for the murder (the "Advance Payment"). A few minutes later,
Individual-2 called the UC and stated that Individual-2 had $15,000 for the UC.
20. Later, on or about June 9, 2023, Individual-2 met
with the UC in Manhattan to make the Advance Payment. During the meeting, which
took place in the UC's vehicle, the UC called GUPTA and facilitated a video
call between GUPTA and Individual-2, dw-ing which GUPTA and 3 "Bhai
ji" is a respectful Hindi term for "brother."
Individual-2 discussed, among other things, GUPTA's
location in India. Individual-2 then handed $15,000 in cash to the UC. A still
image of the Advance Payment is shown below.
21. On or about June 10, 2023, GUPTA sent to CC-1
screenshots of GUPTA's text message conversations with the CS and the UC, in
which both confirmed that the Advance Payment had been made. CC-1 responded,
"Ok bhai ji."
CC-1 and GUPTA Instruct That the Murder Should Not
Occur During Anticipated High Level Diplomatic Engagements Between India and
the United States
22. As they plotted the murder of the Victim, GUPTA
specifically and repeatedly instructed the CS not to carry out the
assassination during anticipated engagements between high level government
officials from the United States and India. For example, on or about June 6, 2023,
on an audio call, GUPTA instructed the CS that "we need to calm down
everything 10 days" because of such engagements scheduled to occur over
the ensuing weeks. GUPTA explained that, given the Victim's public profile as
an activist, there could be protests in the wake of his death, which could lead
to "political things," referring to geopolitical fallout if the
Victim were assassinated on U.S. soil during those planned meetings. GUPTA
added that after the planned engagements, there would be "more jobs, more
jobs," referring to more targeted killings like that of the Victim to be
carried out in the future.
23. Consistent with the instructions that GUPTA
relayed to the CS, CC-1 instructed GUPTA not to carry out the assassination of
the Victim in the immediate lead-up to, or during, the planned engagements
between high-level U.S. and Indian government officials. For example, on or
about June 11, 2023, after receiving from GUPTA additional purported
surveillance photographs of the Victim, CC-I messaged Gupta: "It looks
promising .. but we have today only .. if it doesn't happen today it will be
done after 24th," that is, after the engagements. GUPTA Informs the CS and
the UC that His India-Based Co-Conspirators Directing the
Murder Plot Were Targeting Other Victims, Including in
Canada
24. During GUPTA's communications with the CS and the
UC, GUPTA repeatedly emphasized that his co-conspirators directing the
assassination plot from India had extensive resources and were closely
monitoring the progress of the plotting. For example, on or about June 12,
2023, the UC received a video call from GUPTA, who appeared to be in a
conference room.
During the call, GUPTA tumed the camera toward
approximately three other men in the room who were dressed in business attire,
sitting around a conference table with GUPTA. As GUPTA turned the camera back
toward himself, he told the UC "we are all counting on you."
Approximately two
days later, on or about June 14, 2023, GUPTA messaged
the UC that GUPTA had a "m[essage] from our friends for you brother."
GUPTA then forwarded a message that GUPTA bad received from CC-1, stating:
"follow [the Victim] till the time he enters his house or any other final
place."
2~. GUPTA also informed the CS and the UC that after
the murder of the Victim,
GUPTA's confederates would provide the CS and the UC
with additional victims to kill. For example, on or about June 9, 2023, GUPTA
told the CS during a call that the mw-der of the Victim
would change the UC's life because "we will give
more bigger job more, more job every month, every month 2-3 job."
26. On or about June 12, 2023, on a call with the CS,
GUPTA stated that there was a "big target" in Canada. A few days
later, on or about June 14, 2023, GUPTA messaged the CS that "we will be
needing one good team in Canada also, [t]omorrow I will share you the
details.,, The following day, on or about June 15, 2023, GUPTA advised the CS
by phone that GUPTA was still "waiting [for] the details" about the
Canadian target. On or about June 16, 2023, on another call with the CS, GUPTA
told the CS that "we are doing their job, brother. We are doing their New York
[and] Canada 0ob]," referring to the individuals directing the targeting
plots from India. Nijjar Is Murdered in Canada, and CC-1 and GUPTA Accelerate
the Plan to Kill the Victim in New York City
27. On or about June 18, 2023, masked gunmen shot and
killed Nijjar, an associate of the Victim and another leader of the Sikh
separatist movement, outside a Sikh temple in Canada.
Later that evening, CC-1 sent GUPTA a video clip
showing Nijjar's bloody body slumped in his vehicle. GUPTA replied that he
wished he had personally conducted the killing and asked CC-1 for permission to
"go to the field." CC-1 responded that "secrecy [is]
important," and "(i]t's better you do not get involved in
action." Approximately one hour later, CC-1 sent GUPTA the street address
of the Victim's residence in New York City.
28. GUPTA forwarded the video clip showing Nijjar's
bloody body to the CS and the UC minutes after receiving it from CC-1. Soon
after, on or about June 19, 2023, GUPTA spoke with the UC by audio call, and
GUPTA told the UC 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." Separately, GUPTA also held an audio call
with the CS, during which GUPTA confirmed that Nijjar was the target that GUPTA
had previously mentioned as the potential Canadian "job" stating:
"This is the guy, I send you the video .... We didn't give to [the UC]
this job, so some other guy did this job ... in Canada." In a change from
his prior insttuction to delay killing the Victim until after the scheduled engagements
between high-level U.S. and Indian government officials, GUPTA told the CS that
the UC should kill the Victim as soon as possible, informing the CS that
"we got the go-ahead to go anytime, even today, tomorrow- as early as
possible. [The UC] has to finish this job, brother." GUPTA also told the
CS to expect the Victim to be more careful in the wake of the Nijjar murder:
"He will be more cautious, because in Canada, his
colleague is down. His colleague is down. I sent you the video. So he will be
more cautious, so we should not give them the chance, any chance."
GUPTA added: "Ifhe is not alone, [if] there are
two guys with him in the meeting or something . . . put everyone down, put
eve1yone down."
29. The following day, on or about June 20, 2023, CC-1
sent GUPTA a news article about the Victim. CC-1 then messaged: "It's [a]
priority now." Shortly thereafter, GUPTA spoke to the CS by audio call,
and GUPTA directed the CS to "find the opportunity" to kill the
Victim and to "do it quicldy." GUPTA stated that before the
"29th [of June] we have to finish four jobs," i. e., the Victim and,
after that, "three in Canada."
CC-1 and GUPTA Continue Working to Orchestrate the
Victim's Murder
30. After the Nijjar murder in Canada, GUPTA demanded
rapid updates from the UC on the progress of the plot to murder the Victim,
which GUPTA then reported to CC-1. GUPTA
simultaneously relayed intelligence on the Victim's
whereabouts from CC-1 to the UC. At one point, on or about June 22, 2023, CC-1
messaged GUPTA that the Victim "is somewhere else, "that "[h]e
is not at home," and that CC-1 "got the message from boss."
GUPTA immediately attempted to call the UC. When the call went unanswered,
GUPTA messaged the UC that the Victim "is not at home according to our
sources ... [m]ake sw-e his presence before entering inside." A few
minutes later, CC-1 messaged GUPTA, instructing: "let them also verify by
their own ... if they are able to get some proof that he is inside .. it will
be a go ahead from us," a reference to giving the green light to
assassinate the Victim as soon as it could be verified that he was at his
residence.
31. On or about June 24, 2023, CC-1 messaged GUPTA
that "today we must get the App based location pie," referring to
obtaining surveillance of the Victim using the GPS
Application. CC-1 explained that "[n]ow it's a
clear go ahead .. we will also be able to help your team if they are sending
location." Consistent with CC-1 's instruction, GUPTA messaged the UC and
directed the UC to transmit "[p]ictures only through the
application." On or about June 25, 2023, the UC sent GUPTA a series of
photographs of the vicinity of the Victim's residence and neighborhood, which
bore GPS coordinate stamps from the GPS Application. GUPTA, in turn, sent
po1tions of the photographs to CC-1. The next day, on or about June 26, 2023,
CC-1 replied to GUPTA: "Excellent ... [t]hey are proving that they are
quite serious now." CC-1 added that "[t]he coming 24 hours will be
crucial," that the Victim "will definitely come to either home or office,"
and that GUPTA should tell the UC "to be ready for both the
locations." GUPTA relayed CC-1 's instruction, directing the UC to
"keep eyes at his house, his office and the cafe he used to visit."
32. Also onor about June ~6, 2023, the UC sent GUPTA
another series of photographs of the Victim's neighborhood taken using the GPS
Application. GUPTA transmitted portions of the photographs to CC-1, who then
provided GUPTA with a total of four "[o]ffice" and "[p]ersonal"
telephone numbers of the Victim. On or about June 29, 2023, GUPTA messaged the
UC that " [w]e have the Intel that the [Victim]
.. . has arrived back to his home" and "[t]oday he should come out
definitely." GUPTA instructed the UC to carry out the murder, stating:
" [t]ry to get this done if you have the visuals and if you are
sure."
GUPTA Is Arrested in the Czech Republic
33. On or about June 30, 2023, GUPTA traveled from
India to the Czech Republic.
Upon his arrival in the Czech Republic, GUPTA was
arrested by Czech law enforcement authorities at the request of the United
States, in connection with his participation in the plot to assassinate the
Victim.
STATUTORY ALLEGATIONS
The Grand Jury charges:
COUNT ONE
(Murder-for-Hire Conspiracy)
34. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 tlu·ough
33 of this Indictment are
repeated and realleged as if fully set forth herein.
35. From at least in or about May 2023 through at
least in or about June 2023, in the Southern District of New York and
elsewhere, NIK.BIL GUPTA, a/k/a "Nick," the defendant, and others
known and unknown, willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated,
and agreed together and with each other to travel in and cause another person
to travel in interstate and foreign commerce, and to use and cause another
person to use the mail and a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, with
intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of a State and the
United States as consideration for the receipt of, and as consideration for a
promise and agreement to pay, a thing of pecuniru.y value, to wit, GUPTA, CC-1
, and others worked together to carry out a plot directed from India to hire
hitmen to assassinate the Victim in the United States, used cellphones to
communicate in furtherance of the scheme, and arranged for the delive1y of a $15,000
advance cash payment for the murder in Manhattan, New York.
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 1958.)
COUNT TWO
(Murder-for-Hire)
The Grand Jmy further charges:
36. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through
33 of this Indictment are
repeated and realleged as if fully set forth herein.
37. From at least in or about May 2023 through at
least in or about June 2023, in the Southern District of New York and
elsewhere, NIK.BIL GUPTA, a/k/a ''Nick," the defendant, and others known
and unknown, traveled in and caused another person to travel in interstate and foreign
commerce, and used and caused another person to use the mail and a facility of
interstate and foreign commerce, with intent that a murder be committed in
violation of the laws of a State and the United States as consideration for the
receipt of, and as consideration for a promise and agreement to pay, a thing of
pecuniary value, and attempted to commit and aided and abetted the same, to
wit, GUPTA, CC-1, and others worked together to carry out a plot directed from
India to hire hitmen to assassinate the Victim in the United States, used
cellphones to communicate in furtherance of the scheme, and arranged for the
delivery of a $15,000 advance cash payment for the murder in Manhattan, New
York.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1958 and 2.)
FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
38. As a result of committing the offenses alleged in
Counts One and Two of this Indictment, NIKHIL GUPTA, a/k/a "Nick,"
the defendant, shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to Title 18, United
States Code, Section 98l(a)(l)(C), and Title 28, United States Code, Section
2461(c), any and all property, real and pel'sonal, that constitutes or is
derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses, including
but not limited to a sum of money in United States currency representing the
amount of proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses.
Substitute Assets Provision
39. If any of the above-described forfeitable
property, as a result of any act or omission of the defendant:
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due
diligence;
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with,
a t.lurd person;
c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the
Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
e. has been commingled with other property which
cannot be subdivided
without difficulty; it is the intent of the United
States, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), and Title 28,
United States Code, Section 2461(c), to seek forfeiture of any other property
of the defendant up to the value of the above forfeitable property. (Title 18,
United States Code, Section 981; Title 21, United States Code, Section 853; and
Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461.)