An Indian man, Nikhil Gupta, suspected by the U.S. of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil, has been extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic. The extradition follows a federal Bureau of Prisons report and confirmation from a source familiar with the matter.
Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of conspiring with an Indian government official to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. resident advocating for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in Prague last June after traveling from India. A Czech court recently rejected his petition to avoid extradition to the U.S., enabling the Czech justice minister to proceed with his transfer.
An inmate search on the Bureau of Prisons website indicated that Gupta, 52, is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal administrative detention facility. This information was corroborated by a source who requested anonymity. The U.S. Justice Department and Gupta’s U.S.-based lawyer, Jeffrey Chabrowe, declined to comment, and there was no immediate response from Czech authorities.
The revelation of assassination plots against Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada has strained relations with India, which Western nations consider a counterbalance to China’s increasing global influence. The Indian government denies any involvement in these plots.
In September, Canadian intelligence agencies began investigating allegations linking India’s government to the June 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In November, U.S. authorities stated that an Indian government official had orchestrated the attempted murder of Pannun, who holds U.S. and Canadian citizenship. Gupta is implicated in this plot.
Pannun welcomed Gupta’s extradition but described Gupta as “just a foot soldier,” alleging that senior Indian government officials acting under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction were behind the plot. The Indian government has distanced itself from the plot against Pannun, asserting that such actions are against government policy and promising a formal investigation into the security concerns raised by Washington.
New Delhi has long viewed Sikh separatist groups outside India as security threats due to their continued advocacy for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. Last month, Washington expressed satisfaction with India’s initial steps toward accountability in the alleged plots but emphasized that further actions were necessary.
