U.S. prosecutors filed charges last month against Nikhil Gupta, identifying him as a central figure in a plot to assassinate a Sikh activist.
An Indian man, Nikhil Gupta, accused of conspiring to assassinate a US-based Sikh separatist leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has sought intervention from India’s Supreme Court in his case. Currently held in Prague, Gupta has asked for assistance from the Indian government to secure his release and ensure a fair trial. His lawyer, Rohini Musa, alleges illegal detention and claims that the extradition process to the US has commenced without providing necessary information to Gupta’s legal team. The family has requested an Indian advocate to represent Gupta in the Czech Republic and the US. US prosecutors charged Gupta in November with plotting to kill Sikh separatists, including Pannun, but the hitman involved was an undercover federal agent. Gupta’s petition asserts his arrest by “self-claimed US agents” without a warrant, lack of a fair trial, and violations of fundamental rights, including being subjected to solitary confinement and forced consumption of food against his religious beliefs. The petition alleges political persecution and wrongful accusations of conspiring with the Indian government in a plot on US soil where Gupta has no connections or business.
