Sikh murder plot suspect pleads not guilty in US court

An Indian national, extradited from the Czech Republic to the United States, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges related to an alleged conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on US soil.

Nikhil Gupta, aged 52, was apprehended at Prague airport in June 2023 based on a US warrant and was recently transported to the United States, arriving on Friday. Appearing before a federal magistrate judge in New York, Gupta entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murder-for-hire, as per court records.

Attorney General Merrick Garland affirmed the Justice Department's commitment to preventing harm to American citizens, stating, "This extradition makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens." Garland added, "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."

The Justice Department unveiled charges against Gupta in November, alleging his collaboration with an unnamed Indian government official to orchestrate the assassination of a US citizen of Indian origin in New York City. The intended victim, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is a dual citizen of the US and Canada associated with Sikhs for Justice, a New York-based group advocating for Punjab's secession from India.

According to court documents, an Indian government agency employee, identified as "CC-1," recruited Gupta in May 2023 for Pannun's assassination. Gupta purportedly contacted an individual he believed to be a criminal associate to hire a hitman, who was actually a confidential source cooperating with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Last year, Canada and India experienced a significant diplomatic dispute after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked New Delhi to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, also a Sikh separatist. Canadian authorities apprehended four Indian nationals in connection with Nijjar's murder, which occurred in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Vancouver.

Gupta's extradition has been welcomed by Pannun as a crucial step in holding "Modi's India" accountable for what he perceives as transnational terrorism aimed at suppressing dissenting political opinions. Although the Khalistan movement has waned within India, it continues to garner support among a vocal minority in the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.