Washington: A US federal court has deferred the sentencing of Nikhil Gupta, who pleaded guilty to plotting the assassination of Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, to November 20. The federal court for the Southern District of New York had originally scheduled Gupta's sentencing for September 25 but delayed the hearing following a request from the “intended murder victim”. While court filings do not name the victim, Pannun's counsel has publicly identified himself as the target of the alleged murder-for-hire plot. On February 13, Gupta pleaded guilty to all three counts: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the plot to kill Pannun. The charge of murder-for-hire carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.