NEW DELHI: Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national, has been extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States, where he is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website and a source familiar with the matter.
Gupta is suspected by US authorities of being involved in a failed plot to assassinate pro-Khalistan radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident and advocate for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
US federal prosecutors have accused Gupta of conspiring with an Indian government official to carry out the assassination. Gupta traveled from India to Prague in June of last year, where he was arrested by Czech authorities. Despite his petition to avoid extradition, a Czech court rejected his appeal last month, paving the way for the Czech justice minister to send him to the US
The discovery of assassination plots targeting Sikh separatists in the United States and Canada has strained relations with India, a country seen by Western nations as a counterbalance to China’s growing global influence. The Indian government denies any involvement in these plots.
In September, Canada stated that its intelligence agencies were investigating allegations connecting the Indian government to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023.
Pannun, who holds both US and Canadian citizenship, told Reuters on Sunday that while Gupta’s extradition is a positive development, he believes that “Nikhil Gupta is just a foot soldier.” He alleges that those responsible for hiring Gupta are high-ranking members of the Indian government acting under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian government has distanced itself from the plot against Pannun, stating that it goes against government policy and has pledged to formally investigate the security concerns raised by Washington.
Gupta is suspected by US authorities of being involved in a failed plot to assassinate pro-Khalistan radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident and advocate for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
US federal prosecutors have accused Gupta of conspiring with an Indian government official to carry out the assassination. Gupta traveled from India to Prague in June of last year, where he was arrested by Czech authorities. Despite his petition to avoid extradition, a Czech court rejected his appeal last month, paving the way for the Czech justice minister to send him to the US
The discovery of assassination plots targeting Sikh separatists in the United States and Canada has strained relations with India, a country seen by Western nations as a counterbalance to China’s growing global influence. The Indian government denies any involvement in these plots.
In September, Canada stated that its intelligence agencies were investigating allegations connecting the Indian government to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023.
Pannun, who holds both US and Canadian citizenship, told Reuters on Sunday that while Gupta’s extradition is a positive development, he believes that “Nikhil Gupta is just a foot soldier.” He alleges that those responsible for hiring Gupta are high-ranking members of the Indian government acting under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Indian government has distanced itself from the plot against Pannun, stating that it goes against government policy and has pledged to formally investigate the security concerns raised by Washington.