Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot: Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national who has been accused of orchestrating the murder attempt of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil pleaded not guilty in a federal court on Monday. Gupta was extradited from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested last year.
Gupta has now been detained until his next court appearance on June 28. His counsel described the case as “complex”, and assured of a vigorous defence.
The Czech Republic Police shared a video of Gupta being safely extradited from Prague. In a blurred video, Gupta can be seen boarding a plane. The Indian national who was arrested by the Czech Police, fought against his extradition to the US, till a court ruled against his petition.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland asserted that Gupta will now “face justice in an American courtroom" for his alleged role in Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s attempted assassination, as directed by an Indian government official. “This extradition makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens. 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," he said.
US prosecutors have alleged that Gupta conspired with an Indian government official, identified in the court documents as CC-1, to kill Pannun. CC-1 has been described as a “senior field officer” with an intelligence background. They alleged that Gupta was recruited in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination.
According to court documents, Gupta is an Indian national who resides in India, is an associate of CC-1, and has described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in his communications with CC-1 and others, a media release said.
If Gupta is convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said this murder-for-hire plot was a brazen attempt to silence a political activist for exercising a quintessential American right -- his freedom of speech.
Pannun, a vocal critic of the Indian government, leads a US-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab.