Indian man extradited to US, charged in alleged assassination conspiracy

Indian national Nikhil Gupta extradited to US, faces charges in alleged $100,000 assassination plot targeting Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India denies involvement; Gupta's plea rejected by Indian Supreme Court.

Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen, was extradited to the United States regarding charges relating to plan to assassinate Pannun, a Sikh separatist, living in United States. The Washington Post earlier this year said that Gupta was arrested by the Czech police last year on an arrest warrant from the United States and that he had been living in Prague. 

The applicant, Gupta, has recently seen his submissions to the Czech Constitutional Court rejected, which in turn paves way for his extradition to the United States. In the records from the prison, it is exhibited that presently Gupta is incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and he may be presented before a federal court in New York on Monday. If he were convicted, he could be sent to jail for as many as 20 years. 

In November US prosecutors charged that Gupta was involved in a conspiracy to eliminate at least four Sikh separatists in North America including Pannun. The report revealed that Gupta offered $100,000 in cash to the undercover federal agent to kill Pannun posing as a hitman. The prosecutors also alleged that an unnamed Indian government official, who was never charged, planned Gupta’s operations. The Indian government has refuted claims of an involvement in the alleged murder plot. 

Pannun is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada and resides in New York; she serves as the general counsel of the Sikh organization known as Sikhs for Justice, which actively backs the Khalistan movement for the establishment of a separate Sikh country. Pannun was proclaimed a terrorist by New Delhi in 2020, which he denies. His name was associated with Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh militant who was killed in his car in Canada the previous year. 

The White House has stated that it communicated the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun with India at the official level to the government. Indian officials have refuted the allegations saying that it is unlawful to take such measures as per the Indian government. India has formed a committee which is investigating the allegations that have been leveled against Gupta. 

Also Read: NIA Seizes Properties of Khalistani Extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Assets in Punjab

In January, Gupta sought the help of the Indian Supreme Court to help free him and ensure a fair trial which was rejected by the supreme Court claiming that the matter was within the domain of the government and refused to get involved.