Hindus for Human Rights calls for Accountability for Government of India Officials in the Alleged US Murder-for-Hire Plot
After Nikhil Gupta’s guilty plea in federal court, Hindus for Human Rights urges that the US government push for further accountability in the alleged murder-for-hire plot, including sanctions against high-high-level Indian government and intelligence officials allegedly implicated in directing or facilitating the scheme.
(February 17, 2026) Hindus for Human Rights welcomes Nikhil Gupta’s guilty plea on February 13, 2026, in the attempted murder of US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City. Additionally, Hindus for Human Rights calls on the United States government to pursue all legal options to hold accountable Indian officials who allegedly have been involved in the murders and attempted murders of American citizens. According to the Washington Post and the Global News, Canadian officials alleged that these Indian officials include Home Minister Amit Shah. If true, both Canadian and American officials must investigate whether available mechanisms, including sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act and additional visa bans, apply to Shah.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors allege Gupta acted “at the direction of an Indian government employee” in an operation aimed at silencing protected political speech on U.S. soil. In a related indictment of a former Indian intelligence officer, the Department of Justice identified that Indian employee as Vikash Yadav, who, according to the superseding indictment, was reporting to a high-level official. Canadian officials say they have intelligence identifying that official as Amit Shah.
However, this attempted murder is part of a larger web of repression, as we have detailed in our report Silencing Dissent Abroad. As an organization that has been directly impacted by the Government of India’s campaign of repression, we know that what happens to one community will affect us all.
The Government of India’s attacks on American citizens represent an emerging national security threat. To that end, we urge the US government to take the following steps:
Pass the Transnational Repression Policy Act and establish a federal definition of transnational repression
Investigate and sanction Indian officials, including Home Minister Amit Shah and RAW, under the Global Magnitsky Act and related human rights frameworks.
Condition future arms sales to India on ending acts of transnational repression against Americans.
Transnational repression is a direct attack on civil liberties, public safety, and democratic life in the United States—and it echoes the worst instincts of authoritarianism everywhere. The appropriate response is not caution. It is accountability.