New Delhi:
Nikhil Gupta, the man accused of conspiring with a government official to assassinate United States -based Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has approached the Supreme Court – via his family – asking for the Indian government to intervene in extradition proceedings imitated by the US.
The petition before the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear the case today, claims he is being illegally detained in Prague, and that, as a law-abiding citizen, fears his life is in danger.
Mr Gupta, an Indian national, is in prison in the Czech Republic following a request by the US government to arrest and extradite him. The extradition request has been provisionally approved.
Nikhil Gupta, 52, is accused of trying to hire a hitman to assassinate Pannun, a Khalistani terrorist who holds American-Canadian citizenship. The ‘hitman’ was an undercover US federal agent.
He faces a 20-year jail term if convicted of the murder-for-hire and conspiracy charges. The US has also accused an Indian government employee, whose identity has been withheld at this time.
US federal prosecutors have said Mr Gupta and the Indian government employee, whom they have code-named CC-1, exchanged a series of telephonic and electronic communications starting May, in which the latter asked the former to plan the murder. In return, Mr Gupta was promised assistance in dropping a criminal case against him in India. The two also met in person, in Delhi, the US has said.
Acting on CC-1’s instructions, Mr Gupta allegedly sought the assistance of an individual he believed to be a criminal associate but who was, in reality, a confidential informant working with the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration, to hire a hitman to kill Pannun in New York City.
Subsequently, CC-1 reached a deal – allegedly brokered by Mr Gupta, labelled an “international narcotics trafficker” – with the undercover officer to pay $100,000 for the killing.
Responding to the charges, the External Affairs Ministry had said “India takes such inputs seriously, since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments are already examining the issue.” A high-level inquiry committee has been established, the government said.
Last week, the White House called on Delhi to hold accountable those involved in this plot, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his government “looks forward to the results” of the inquiry.
