Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of plotting to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States. He is expected to be produced in court on Monday.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun. The Washington Post, which broke the news of Gupta’s extradition, reported that he arrived in New York over the weekend after being detained in the Czech Republic.
Who is Nikhil Gupta? What is The Case Against Him?
Nikhil Gupta, 52, also known as ‘Nick’, was arrested in Prague by the the Czech authorities in June. Gupta has been charged by the US prosecution with attempting to hire a hitman to assassinate Khalistani separatist Pannun, a US citizen designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in India.
The US has alleged that an Indian government employee is the mastermind behind Pannun’s killing and that the employee, whose identity is unknown and has been named CC-1 in the case, gave directions to Gupta to plot the assassination of Pannun.
The US said that CC-1 recruited Gupta in May to orchestrate the assassination of the Pannun, a vocal critic of the Indian government and leader of a US-based organisation advocating for the secession of Punjab. Gupta, under CC-1’s direction, contacted a confidential source working with the DEA to contract a hitman for the murder. The hitman, an undercover DEA officer, was later agreed to be paid USD 100,000 by CC-1 in a deal brokered by Gupta.
In June, CC-1 provided Gupta with Pannun’s personal information, including his New York City address, phone numbers, and details about his daily life. Gupta, in turn, passed this information to the undercover officer. CC-1 instructed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot. In light of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s June killing, Gupta informed the undercover officer that there was “now no need to wait” to kill Pannun.
The Czech authorities arrested Gupta on June 30, based on the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic. Gupta faces charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
What Gupta Has Said
A petition was filed by Gupta’s family in December 2023 seeking Indian government’s intervention in extradition proceedings initiated by the US. The petition claimed Gupta was being illegally detained in Prague, and that, as a law-abiding citizen, feared his life is in danger. It also claimed “grave violations of fundamental rights”, including “forced consumption of beef and pork” that he found offensive as he is a “devout Hindu and vegetarian”.
Gupta through his attorney had also denied the charges against him and has said that he has been “unfairly charged”. “Gupta’s attorney, Rohini Musa, wrote in a petition to the Indian Supreme Court that her client is being unfairly prosecuted, saying there is nothing on record to link the Petitioner to the massive alleged plot to assassinate the alleged victim,” The Washington Post said. “Musa complained that Gupta received adverse legal advice from a Czech government-appointed attorney “under the undue influence of … U.S. Agencies” during the initial phase of his detention,” the newspaper reported.
Last month, a Czech court rejected Gupta’s petition to avoid being sent to the US, clearing the way for the Czech justice minister to extradite him.
What India Said
India has denied involvement in the assassination of Pannun. India said that the US allegation was a “matter of concern” and announced that a high-level probe committee would thoroughly investigate the matter.
“During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said last year about discussions between India and US on security matters. He had said the inputs were a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action.
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