Nikhil Gupta, accused of murder for hire plot, extradited to US
Washington (PTI): Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh extremist on American soil, has been extradited to the US from the Czech Republic, media reports here said Sunday.
Gupta, 52, was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American citizen, in New York.
The Czech Constitutional Court last month rejected a petition by Gupta against his extradition to the US to face the charges.
US federal prosecutors allege that Gupta had been working according to the directions of an unnamed Indian government official.
India has however denied its involvement in such a case and has instituted a high-level investigation into the allegations.
Gupta is currently lodged at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and expected to be produced before a federal court in New York on Monday.
Gupta is listed as an inmate at the Brooklyn detention Centre, according to The Washington Post - 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 report said.
Federal prosecutors allege that Gupta hired a hitman to kill Pannun and paid USD 15,000 in advance.
Gupta, through his attorney, has denied the charges and said that he has been "unfairly charged".
“Gupta’s attorney, Rohini Musa, wrote in a petition to the Indian Supreme Court that her client is being unfairly prosecuted, saying there is 'nothing on record to link the petitioner to the massive alleged plot to assassinate the alleged victim',” The Washington Post said.
“Musa complained that Gupta received adverse legal advice from a Czech government-appointed attorney “under the undue influence of … US Agencies” during the initial phase of his detention.
She said India and the United States were “going back and forth to blame each other for their foreign policy”, the daily reported.
Gupta’s extradition comes ahead of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's planned visit to New Delhi this week for the annual initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) dialogue with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Pannun holds dual American and Canadian citizenship.
The Washington Post in April 2024 reported that Vikram Yadav, a Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer, was the Indian official behind the plot. The paper also said the then R&AW chief Samant Goel sanctioned the operation.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, however, dismissed the report, saying it makes “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations” to claim that Indian agents were involved in the plot to kill Pannun.
India has publicly said a high-level inquiry is looking into the evidence shared by the US in the alleged plot to kill Pannun.
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LS speaker's resolution on Emergency triggers opposition protests
New Delhi(PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution, triggering a wave of protests by the opposition in the House.
Birla's reference to the Emergency, shortly after his election as Lok Sabha speaker, also saw a face-off between the government and the opposition in the first session of the lower house.
"This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. We appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting India's democracy," Birla said amid vociferous protests by opposition parties.
Opposition MPs, including from the Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans against the reference to the Emergency.
"June 25, 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India. On this day, then prime minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Babasaheb Ambedkar," the speaker said.
Birla said India was known all over the world as the mother of democracy.
"Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Indira Gandhi imposed dictatorship on such an India. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled," Birla said.
He said the rights of Indian citizens were crushed and their freedom snatched away.
"Those were the times when opposition leaders were jailed, the entire nation was turned into a prison. The then dictatorial government had put several restrictions on the media and there was restraint on the autonomy of judiciary," Birla said.
The speaker urged members to observe silence for a while and later adjourned the proceedings for the day.
Soon after the House was adjourned for the day, BJP members staged protests by waving placards and raising slogans outside Parliament.
