Protests Erupt Over Alleged Assassination Plot

Demonstrators outside a Manhattan courthouse protested against the Indian government for its alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot targeting Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, beating an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This protest followed a recent indictment charging Indian government employee Vikash Yadav, who remains at large, in connection with the foiled assassination scheme. Nikhil Gupta, who pleaded not guilty during the hearing, was allegedly recruited by Yadav to find a hitman for the assassination. Gupta has been held without bail since his extradition from the Czech Republic in June 2023. US authorities revealed the plot was thwarted in June 2023 by a DEA sting operation, with Pannun advocating for a sovereign Sikh state and considered a terrorist by India. The indictment suggests that Gupta was misled into believing he was communicating with a criminal associate for the hit, who was actually a DEA informant.