Pannun Murder Plot: Nikhil Gupta Extradited to US, May Appear Before Court Today

New Delhi: Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national suspected of being involved in the plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic, as per media reports. Gupta is expected to be produced before a federal court in New York on Monday.

Gupta, 52, was apprehended by Czech authorities last year at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in plotting assassination bid of Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, US resident and advocate for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Last June, Gupta traveled to Prague from India where he was arrested.

The 52-year-old is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to media reports.

The US has accused Gupta of conniving with an Indian government official to execute Pannun’s assassination bid which had eventually failed. A Czech court had rejected his appeal to avoid extradition to the US last month, further paving the way for the Czech justice minister to hand him over to the US.

The incidents of assassination bids targeting Sikh separatists in the United States and Canada have strained diplomatic ties with India.

However, the Indian government has been denying any involvement in these plots.

Earlier in September, Canada had said that its intelligence agencies were probing the allegations linking the Indian government to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June 2023.

Meanwhile, Pannun has alleged that Gupta is just a “foot soldier” and those responsible for hiring him are some Indian government officials.

India has distanced itself from the plot against Pannun, maintaining that it goes against government policy. The Indian government has pledged to formally probe the security concerns raised by Washington.