Indian-American convicted of murder-for-hire plot, witness tampering

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An Indiana man was convicted on all counts in connection with a plot to pay a purported hitman to kill his estranged wife, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced June 11, 2021.

Narsan Lingala, 57, of Noblesville, Indiana, was convicted on one count each of conspiring to commit murder for hire and traveling interstate or using interstate facilities with intent that a murder for hire be committed and two counts of attempting to tamper with a witness.

The jury deliberated three hours before returning the guilty verdicts following an eight-day trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton, N.J. federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial, the press release said Lingala conspired and attempted to hire a purported hitman to kill his ex-wife.

Lingala also attempted to tamper with the testimony of a conspirator and an undercover law enforcement officer.

The conduct for which he was convicted occurred between approximately May 2018 and March 2019.

Lingala’s conspirator, Sandya Reddy, pleaded guilty in April 2019 to her role in the scheme and was sentenced on Aug. 10, 2020, to 63 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s press release said.

The murder-for-hire charges are each punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison; the witness tampering charges are punishable by a maximum of 20 years. All of the charges are also punishable by a maximum fine of $250,000.