The police shared a video on X (previously known as Twitter), stating, “The foreigner is suspected in the US of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and is now in the hands of American justice.The cooperation of foreign police officers, the Directorate for International Police Cooperation, and colleagues from the USA enabled the safe extradition from Prague airport.”
Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities after traveling from India to Prague last year. Following his extradition last week, he appeared in a federal court in New York on Monday, where he entered a plea of not guilty, as confirmed by his attorney, Jeffrey Chabrowe.
The decision to extradite Gupta was made by Czech justice minister Pavel Blazek on June 3, based on suspicions of “conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire with intent to cause death.” Gupta is currently being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.
According to allegations made by US federal prosecutors, Gupta was working on behalf of an Indian official to orchestrate the murder-for-hire plot targeting Pannun. It is alleged that Gupta hired a hitman and made an advance payment of $15,000. The US shared information about the official’s alleged involvement with India, leading to the establishment of a committee to investigate the case. India has denied any involvement and has initiated its own investigation into the allegations.
Gupta, through his attorney Rohini Musa, has also denied the charges, asserting that he has been “unfairly charged.” In a petition submitted to the Supreme Court, Musa stated that there is “nothing on record to link the Petitioner to the massive alleged plot to assassinate the alleged victim.”