Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who has been accused in the murder plot of Khalistani terrorist and US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, has been extradited to the US from the Czech Republic.
A search on the Bureau of Prisons website by inmate name showed on Sunday that Gupta, 52, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn. Sources have confirmed Gupta’s extradition and detention in Brooklyn. He is expected to be produced before a federal court in New York on Monday.
Last month, a Czech court rejected Nikhil Gupta’s petition to avoid being sent to the US, paving the way for the Czech justice minister to extradite him.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30 2023, based on US allegations of his involvement in a conspiracy to commit the killing allegedly by hiring a hitman under the direction of an Indian government official.
Matter up for discussion
Nikhil Gupta’s extradition comes ahead of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to New Delhi for the annual Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) meet. The matter is expected to be raised by Sullivan with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
India has denied its involvement in the Pannun murder plot and has constituted a probe committee to investigate the US allegations. Nikhil Gupta too, through his attorney, has denied the charges and has said he has been “unfairly charged”.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada, and is wanted in India on terror charges. He has been designated a terrorist by the Union Home Minister under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
