Indian national Nikhil Gupta, charged in alleged plot to kill Khalistan terrorist Pannun, extradited to US from Czech Republic

Washington, DC (USA), June 17: Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of involvement in the alleged plot to assassinate Indian-designated pro-Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, was extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States will stand trial, NBC News reported.

A U.S. District Court spokesperson said Gupta was scheduled to appear at the Lower Manhattan courthouse on Monday on murder-for-hire charges, the U.S. television network reported.

The US Department of Justice claimed that Gupta (52) was an associate of the Indian government and that together they and others helped plan Pannun's assassination in New York, NBC News reported.

In November last year, U.S. Department of Justice officials announced charges against Gupta following his June 2023 arrest in the Czech Republic. They said Gupta would be extradited to New York.

Pannun is an Indian-designated terrorist who holds American and Canadian citizenship.

Earlier in November, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate a leader of the US-based Sikh separatist movement and a citizen of New York .

The Justice Department claimed that an Indian government employee (named CC-1), who was not identified in the indictment filed in a Manhattan federal court, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by U.S. authorities, prosecutors say.

In its indictment, the Justice Department alleged that early last year, an Indian government employee working with others, including Gupta, led a plot to assassinate a political activist who is an American citizen of Indian origin residing in New York. It was alleged that Gupta was an associate of CC-1 and described his involvement in international drug and arms trafficking in his communications with CC-1.

The indictment alleges that CC-1 directed the assassination plot from India. At the direction of CC-1, Gupta allegedly contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source working with Drug Enforcement. Administration (DEA) of the United States.

The source allegedly introduced Gupta to an alleged hitman, who was an undercover DEA officer. The alleged hitman was offered $100,000 to assassinate the separatist leader, the Justice Department said. The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the Justice Department said in a statement.

India formed a high-level commission of inquiry in November last year to address security concerns highlighted by the US government.

The foreign ministry said India took these contributions seriously as they also impinged on national security interests, and relevant departments were already studying the issue.

In December last year, US Deputy Senior National Security Advisor Jon Finer acknowledged India's establishment of a commission of inquiry to probe the plot to kill Pannun in the United States. UNITED STATES.

Disclaimer: This article has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor.

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