Nikhil Gupta Charged With Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Murder Plot Extradited To US From Czech Republic
As per the media reports on Sunday, Indian national Nikhil Gupta, has been extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic. Gupta, aged 52, has been suspected in the murder plot of Khalistani terrorist and US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. He has been arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government.
Gupta is expected to appear before a federal court in New York on Monday. At present, he is held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
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His extradition was at first reported by The Washington Post quoting anonymous sources.
“Gupta, who had been detained in the Czech Republic, arrived in New York over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive legal proceedings. Typically, extradited defendants must appear in court within a day of their arrival in the country,” The Washington Post reports.
According to federal prosecutors, Gupta hired a hitman to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and paid $15,000 in advance. They also allege that an unnamed Indian government official was involved in the Pannun murder plot.
Gupta’s extradition comes just days ahead of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to New Delhi for the annual ICET dialogue. As per the reports, Sullivan is looking forward to raise the issue before his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
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India has already dismissed any involvement in the murder plot and has formulated a high-level committee in November 2023 to investigate the allegation.
Meanwhile, Nikhil Gupta through his attorney Rohini Musa, has rejected the charges and claimed that he has been “unfairly charged”.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a wanted Khalistani activist for India. He headed the US based separatist organisation Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) which was banned in July 10, 2019. Pannun was charged with 22 cases since 2017 including three sedition cases. Charges against him include calling youths for terrorist activities and funding terrorist activities in Punjab from abroad.
