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Journalism of Courage
Nikhil ‘Nik’ Gupta, an Indian national who is accused by the United States of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was extradited from the Czech Republic to the US on June 14.
We look at the accusations against him, the chronology of events, and what happens next.
Gupta, 52, was arrested in Prague last year at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun in New York. Pannun holds dual American and Canadian citizenship, and heads the pro-Khalistan organisation Sikhs for Justice, which has been banned in India.
US Federal prosecutors alleged that Gupta hired a hitman to kill Pannun, making a $15,000 advance payment in May-June 2023. These allegations were made in an indictment filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in New York’s Southern District, unsealed in November last year.
Despite not naming Pannun as the victim, the indictment offered details which leave little doubt. The ‘Victim’ is described as “an attorney and political activist”, “a US citizen residing in New York”, “a vocal critic of the Indian government …[who] leads a US-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab”, and says that the Indian government has “banned the Victim and his separatist organisation.”
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, dismissed the report, saying it makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations to claims. India has publicly said that a high-level inquiry is looking into the evidence shared by the US in tha matter.
Gupta, through his attorney, has denied the accusations against him, claiming that he has been “unfairly charged”.
These allegations came just months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had, in September 2023, accused “agents of the Indian government” of being involved in the fatal shooting of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil June 18. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, like Pannun had been a vocal critic of the Indian government.
The MEA, however, rejected Trudeau’s allegations, calling them “absurd”. Trudeau’s claims adversely impacted India’s bilateral relationship with Canada.
On June 30 last year, as Gupta travelled from India to the Czech Republic, he was arrested by Czech law enforcement authorities at the request of the US, pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the two countries.
Later, both the Municipal Court in Prague (on November 23, 2023), and the High Court in Prague (on January 8, 2024), ruled positively on the admissibility of the US’s request for his extradition. On January 19, 2024, Gupta had challenged the decisions of both the courts, arguing that the courts did not properly assess the political nature of the act.
Consequently, the highest court of the Czech Republic stayed the lower courts’ decisions permitting the extradition, citing no significant harm to public interest if this action is delayed. In its interim decision on January 30, the Constitutional Court in Prague said Gupta’s extradition to the US for criminal prosecution would result in disproportionately greater harm to him than anyone else. Further, it emphasised that this action would be irreversible.
However, on May 22, the Constitutional Court dismissed Gupta’s challenge to the decisions of the Municipal Court and the High Court, paving the way for his extradition.
A day after Gupta’s plea was rejected, a spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Justice told The Indian Express that his extradition will now be decided “expeditiously, without undue delay”.
On June 3, the Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic authorised the extradition of Nikhil Gupta to the US. “The extradition was carried out on Friday, June 14, 2024, at Prague-Ruzyně Airport,” he said.
As per reports, Gupta is currently lodged at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. He will likely be produced in court on Monday. The development comes at a time when US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is visiting New Delhi for the annual initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) dialogue with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
Gupta’s extradition is an issue that is expected to have come up during the talks. Sullivan also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Monday, just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a pull-aside with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy. Gupta’s trial will begin shortly.
