Pannun ‘Murder Plot‘ – Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of participating in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States on June 14.
His family, according to a source, only learned of his extradition on Sunday evening through their U.S. lawyer, following Gupta’s transfer to a detention center in Brooklyn, New York. Upon being presented in a federal court in New York, Gupta pleaded not guilty, as stated by his attorney, Jeffrey Chabrowe, to the news agency PTI.
Justice Department’s statement
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “This extradition makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens.” Garland added that Gupta would face justice in an American courtroom for his alleged involvement in a plot, directed by an Indian government employee, to target and assassinate a US citizen supporting the Sikh separatist movement in India.
“Nikhil Gupta will now face justice in an American courtroom for his involvement in an alleged plot, directed by an employee of the Indian government, to target and assassinate a US citizen for his support of the Sikh separatist movement in India,” Garland said.
The Justice Department unsealed the charges against Gupta in November 2023, accusing him of conspiring with an unidentified Indian government official to kill a US citizen of Indian origin in New York City.
The alleged target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US and Canadian citizen associated with Sikhs for Justice.
Court documents reveal that an employee of an Indian government agency, identified only as “CC-1″, recruited Gupta in May 2023 to carry out Pannun’s assassination. Gupta allegedly contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate to hire a hitman, who turned out to be a confidential source working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).