How alleged India plots to kill Sikh separatists in the US and Canada unfolded

An undercover U.S. law enforcement officer is handed $15,000, described by the U.S. Department of Justice as the advance cash payment, by an associate of Nikhil Gupta, who was charged with orchestrating the attempted murder of a Sikh separtist, in a car in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. June 9, 2023, in a photograph contained in an indictment. U.S. District Court/SDNY/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo

NEW YORK/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The alleged plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil began in May, with a text message between what the American indictment says was an Indian security official and an alleged drugs trafficker.

"Save my name," the official wrote to a man named Nikhil Gupta over an encrypted messaging application on May 6, according to U.S. prosecutors.