Nikhil Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the behest of the US government on suspicions of involvement in an assassination plot against Sikh rebel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused of participating in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh separatist, was extradited from the Czech Republic on June 16, according to media reports.
Gupta, 52, was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government on accusations of participating in an assassination plan against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He is set to appear before a federal judge in New York on Monday.
Gupta is currently lodged at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where he is listed as an inmate. The Washington Post was the first news outlet to report his extradition.
“Gupta, who had been detained in the Czech Republic, arrived in New York over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive legal proceedings. Typically, extradited defendants must appear in court within a day of their arrival in the country,” the daily said.
Federal prosecutors allege that Gupta hired a hitman to kill Pannun and paid 415,000 in advance. They allege that an unnamed Indian government official was involved in it.
Gupta’s extradition comes ahead of the New Delhi visit of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan for the annual ICET dialogue. The issue is expected to be raised by Sullivan before his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
India has denied its involvement in such a case and has instituted an investigation into the allegations.
Gupta through his attorney has denied the charges and has said that he has been “unfairly charged”.
“Gupta’s attorney, Rohini Musa, claimed in a petition to the Indian Supreme Court that her client is being wrongfully punished, saying there is “nothing on record to link the Petitioner to the enormous purported plot to assassinate the supposed victim,” The Washington Post reported.
Musa said that Gupta had biassed legal counsel from a Czech government-appointed attorney due to excessive influence from US agencies during his initial incarceration. She claimed that India and the US were “going back and forth to blame each other for their foreign policy,” according to the daily.
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