Indian man charged with assassination plot aimed at Sikh activist in NYC

The Justice Department announced charges against an Indian man who's accused of directing an assassination plot.

Nikhil "Nick" Gupta was charged on Wednesday after an Indian government employee who works on security and intelligence encouraged him to take out a Sikh activist who supports a sovereign state in northern India, the Department of Justice said.

The defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs," said Manhattan prosecutor Damian Williams in a statement.

It's the second such incident announced in the past week. According to President Joe Biden's administration, investigators foiled another plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States.

Among the most startling details in the Justice Department's statement is an alleged revelation from Gupta to an undercover DEA agent that another Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, "was also the target."

In fact, he revealed, "We have so many targets."

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Sikh groups, including some active in the United States and Canada, have vocally advocated for their own state to be parsed out of India.

The Diplomat detailed leaked Pakistani documents it says point to an assassination program being orchestrated by India, though the site claimed the leak is attempting to capitalize on India's negative publicity.

The Intercept's report last week also cited the same intelligence assessment, saying that the Indian government's "Research and Analysis Wing" has been plotting a global assassination plot in several countries in a coordinated effort to target Sikh and Kashmiri activists abroad.

Read the full court filing by the DOJ here.