NEW DELHI: US attorney Damian Williams has announced the filing of 'murder-for-hire' charges against an Indian national Nikhil Gupta in connection with a foiled assassination attempt on Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The charges are contained in a superseding indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday in a US district court for the southern district of New York.
The case is pending before US district judge Victor Marrero. Czech authorities arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, 2023, pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the US and the Czech Republic.
The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
"As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate right here in New York city, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs. I am grateful that my office and our law enforcement partners neutralised this deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate US citizens on US soil and stand ready to investigate, thwart and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad," said Williams.
Murder-for-hire carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and conspiracy for the same also has a 10-year jail term.
According to the US state attorney’s office, Gupta, 52, is an Indian national residing in India and is allegedly involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking.
The statement also refers to the killing of slain Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 outside a gurudwara in British Colombia, Canada. It has been alleged that on June 19, Gupta told an underover agent to go ahead with Pannun’s killing.
Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, the Indian government announced that it has constituted a committee to look into the issues raised by the US on the alleged assassination bid.
"It is informed that on 18 November 2023, the Government of India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
The MEA said that the Indian government will take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Enquiry Committee.
"We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others," Bagchi added.
The MEA reiterated that India took such inputs seriously as they also impinged on the country's national security interests. Relevant departments were already examining the issue, it added.