He took blame on himself… wanted to end it: Nikhil Gupta’s family on Pannun murder plot

The news of Gupta pleading guilty, and the fact that it almost certainly means a sentence and imprisonment, has left his wife and mother in shock, the source said. “It’s obviously the toughest for them, this development.”

Gupta is learnt to have spoken to his family over the phone a few days before he entered the guilty plea, but did not indicate during that conversation that such a decision was imminent, sources said.

The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carry a maximum combined sentence of 40 years in prison. He entered his plea before US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in the Manhattan federal court.

Travelling from India to the Czech Republic, Gupta was arrested by Czech law enforcement on June 30, 2023, at the request of the US government, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the two countries.

Accused of being involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun, an American citizen, in New York, Gupta was extradited from Prague to the US on June 14, and has been lodged in a Brooklyn jail in New York.

The prolonged legal battle has taken a financial toll on Gupta’s family in India, forcing them to discontinue the services of a private attorney. Gupta eventually requested a government-appointed counsel in the US, which was granted.

“There is obviously a funds crunch. They have exhausted all their money fighting this battle. But they are now exploring whether they can raise some money to get him a lawyer for the sentencing hearing, expected in the last week of May,” another source said.

The family has maintained that no one in the Indian government has reached out to offer assistance in the legal fight, despite their efforts to make contact with officials in the Ministry of External Affairs. “No one from the government has reached out to the family to date,” the source added.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview to The Indian Express through an intermediary published in January 2025, Gupta had said that while he received Indian consular access thrice during his almost year-long detention in Prague, he had not received any in the first six months since his extradition to the United States.

In the same interview, Gupta had denied any links to Vikash Yadav, his alleged co-conspirator accused of orchestrating the plot to murder Pannun, and called the evidence presented by the US “fabricated.”

New Delhi has denied any role in the alleged plot, saying such actions are against government policy. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly dismissed the allegations as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated”.

Asked about Yadav on October 18, 2024, when his identity was revealed by US prosecutors through a superseding indictment, an MEA spokesperson said he is “no longer an employee of the government of India.”

In response, India set up a high-level inquiry committee to address the security concerns raised by the US. The MEA reiterated that India takes such matters seriously, given their implications for national security.

The MEA has not reacted to Friday’s development on Gupta pleading guilty.