In letter to US judge, Nikhil Gupta says he planned Pannun op alone

NEW DELHI: Nikhil Gupta, facing trial in an assassination attempt probe in US, has indicated that he was acting alone and apologised in a remorseful letter to US district judge Victor Marrero ahead of his Nov 20 sentencing. Gupta also opened up about his psychological turmoil following his initial arrest, admitting he did not recognise the person he had become in early 2023. "I had lost my mind... wish I could turn back time to 2023 and undo my mistakes," Gupta wrote in the letter, describing how heavy drinking and personal struggles clouded his judgement. He revealed that he faced severe suicidal thoughts during his early days in custody, constantly worrying about the agonising pain he had caused his wife, children, mother, family and two cats. Detailing his time in detention including solitary confinement in Czech Republic and subsequent placement at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Gupta described turning toward meditation, yoga, and spiritual books to cope with isolation and the constant threats of violence from fellow inmates.

"The most serious challenge in front of me at that time was to contact my family and to let them know that I was alive and to make them aware of the situation, but I could not do so for several weeks due to many restrictions on me as an American law offender...," he wrote. The upcoming sentencing on Nov 20 comes amid high-profile legal filings. Recently, federal prosecutors requested the target of the plot, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, be granted 20 minutes to address the court directly. Concluding his letter to the judge, Nikhil Gupta stated that he would accept whatever judgement the court handed down.