NEW DELHI: Nikhil Gupta, an Indian accused of plotting to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has pleaded guilty in a US court.Nikhil Gupta (54) pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a Manhattan court, Reuters news agency reported. The charges together carry a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison, authorities said.Gupta, who has been held in a Brooklyn jail since his extradition to the United States in June last year, pleaded guilty before US Judge Sarah Netburn. He had previously pleaded not guilty after being extradited from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested in 2023. Gupta is accused of hiring a hitman for $100,000 to murder Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, allegedly at the behest of an Indian government official identified by U.S. authorities as Vikash Yadav. The plot collapsed after the alleged hitman turned out to be an undercover federal agent.According to the US Department of Justice, Yadav allegedly attacked Gupta in May 2023 to coordinate the plot to kill Pannun in New York. The government also constituted a high-level committee in November 2023 to examine the US allegations. In January of last year, just days before Donald Trump took office, the panel presented its report recommending legal action against the official in question, without naming him. The report said the individual’s “prior criminal ties and history” had also emerged during the investigation.