Nikhil Gupta, Accused In Murder Plot Of Sikh Separatist Pannun In US Could Be Extradited: Czech Court

New Delhi: Nikhil Gupta, accused by the United States of involvement in an alleged plot to murder Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, could be extradited to the US. A Czech court has approved the extradition. The Czech Justice Ministry announced the decision on Friday, leaving the final call in the hands of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek once the ruling is delivered to all relevant parties in the case, Reuters said in a report.

Czech authorities had detained Gupta in June last year in Prague. US federal prosecutors have accused the 52-year-old of collaborating with an Indian government official in a scheme to kill Pannun, a Sikh separatist with dual US and Canadian citizenship.

According to the Czech news website seznamzpravy dot com, Gupta argued that there was a case of mistaken identity and contested that he was not the person the United States was seeking. He characterised the case as “political” in nature, setting the stage for what could be a protracted legal battle.