Nikhil Gupta is facing a 24 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a failed assasination bid on Saturday. He was arrested nearly three years ago over a murder-for-hire plot against US citizen and India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The protracted legal battle came to an abrupt end this week as Gupta pleaded guilty — leaving family members shocked and surprised.
Sources told The Indian Express that Gupta had been keenly aware of the toll his circumstances were taking on his family. The confession was reportedly his bid to end the “long and exhausting” legal battle. Sentencing will take place at the end of May but his guilty plea means that imprisonment is almost a certainty.
“The family has been fighting this for so long. He would have sensed the toll it was taking on them and decided to put an end to it. He hasn’t turned approver or anything but has taken all the blame on himself, from what the family has been told by his lawyer,” a source close to the family told The Indian Express.
They added that Gupta had not informed his family prior to the announcement. They had only learnt of his decision through his lawyer on Friday — mere hours before the news broke on media channels. |
