Indian National Pleads Not Guilty to Plot to Assassinate Khalistani Activist in US

Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused of orchestrating an assassination plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil, has pleaded not guilty at a federal court in New York. The US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, asserted that the US will not tolerate any harm to its citizens, particularly on American soil, and that Gupta will now face justice in a US courtroom.

Gupta, 53, also known as Nick, was apprehended and detained in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, at the US government’s request on charges of involvement in a plot to assassinate Pannun in New York. He was extradited to the US on June 14. “This extradition makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens,” Garland stated on Monday after Gupta’s lawyer, Jeffrey Chabrowe, declared his client’s not guilty plea.

Gupta is facing charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each charge. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco labeled the alleged murder-for-hire plot, supposedly orchestrated by an Indian government employee to eliminate a US citizen in New York City, as a brazen attempt to silence a political activist for exercising a quintessential American right – his freedom of speech. “The extradition of the defendant is a vital step towards justice,” she added.

Meanwhile, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Chief Christopher Wray echoed the sentiment, stating that the agency will not tolerate any foreign citizen or individual repressing the constitutional rights enjoyed by US citizens. “We will continue to work with our partners at home and abroad to protect our citizens and these sacred rights,” he emphasized.

Court documents revealed that last year, an Indian government employee (CC-1) allegedly conspired with Gupta and others in India and elsewhere to direct an assassination plot against an attorney and political activist, a US citizen of Indian origin, on US soil. The Indian national is charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and if convicted, Gupta will face up to 10 years in prison.

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