Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced murder-for-hire fees in opposition to a person in an alleged plot by an Indian authorities official to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City.

Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian nationwide, is charged in federal courtroom in Manhattan with two prison counts associated to the in the end foiled homicide plot, a newly unsealed court filing reveals.

Gupta was arrested within the Czech Republic on June 30 on the request of the U.S. authorities.

The superseding indictment unsealed Wednesday morning alleges Gupta was recruited by an unnamed Indian official to orchestrate the homicide of a political activist who’s a vocal critic of the nation’s authorities.

The alleged goal, who can be not named within the charging paperwork, is described by the Department of Justice as an lawyer and activist who’s a U.S. citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City. News retailers together with The New York Times and the Washington Post have recognized him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, basic counsel for the group Sikhs for Justice.

The group advocates for the secession of the northern Indian state of Punjab, house to a big focus of the Sikh ethnoreligious minority group. The Indian authorities has already banned the alleged sufferer and his separatist group from the nation, in accordance with the DOJ.

The Indian authorities official who allegedly directed the homicide plot has referred to as himself a “Senior Field Officer” with obligations in “Security Management” and “Intelligence,” in accordance with the DOJ.

At that official’s path, Gupta contacted a presumed prison affiliate who might assist him contract a hitman, in accordance with the DOJ. But the particular person Gupta contacted was truly an undercover U.S. regulation enforcement agent, the DOJ stated.

The spy put Gupta in contact with one other regulation enforcement officer posing because the hitman, in accordance with the DOJ. Gupta allegedly then helped dealer a deal for the Indian authorities official to pay the purported hitman $100,000 for the assassination.

The authorities official gave private details about the sufferer to Gupta and requested for normal updates in regards to the progress of the homicide plot, the DOJ alleged. Around June, Gupta directed the purported hitman to assassinate the activist as quickly as attainable — however not across the time of anticipated diplomatic talks between the U.S. and India, the DOJ alleged.

The identical month, one other Indian authorities critic and advocate for Sikh separatism, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed by masked gunmen in British Columbia, Canada, the DOJ famous.

The day after that homicide, Gupta allegedly informed the undercover hitman that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets.” Gupta added that there was “now no need to wait” on killing the New York City goal in mild of Nijjar’s killing.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in September that there have been “credible allegations” linking India’s authorities to the demise of Nijjar, a citizen of Canada.

The killing, and Trudeau’s accusation, have dramatically strained tensions between India and Canada and prompted expulsions of diplomats from each international locations.

The discovery of the tried assassination plot on U.S. soil spurred the Biden administration to ship CIA Director William Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to New Delhi earlier this yr, The Washington Post reported earlier Wednesday.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated Wednesday the Indian authorities convened a “high-level Enquiry Committee” on Nov. 18 to research “all the relevant aspects of the matter” and has pledged to take all vital follow-up motion primarily based on the committee’s findings.

“We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated in a statement.

In a press conference in New Delhi Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated it was a “matter of concern” that an Indian authorities official was linked to the alleged plot within the U.S. “This is also contrary to government policy,” he stated.

— CNBC’s Clement Tan contributed to this report.